Never Coincidence
by take1step
Summary: She was born of a fleeting thought. The "daughter" of Yuko and Clow Reed. She has no idea what her purpose is or what she is meant to do. But when she is with her mother she sees the opportunity she has been waiting for. But what awaits her?
1. Chapter 1

It was raining, the drops softly hitting the shoulders of the Dimensional Witch. She held in her arms an infant softy sighing as it slept in the arms of her mother protected from the rain by some other-worldly power. Yuko looked down on her daughter's face as she took the baby inside "There is no such thing as coincidence. There is only inevitability. Hitsuzen. No matter by what force be it my magic or Clow's you my dear would come to exist."

She looked to the two young girls who welcomed her inside, "Maru and Moro could you please get some clean sheets and see if there are any clothes we have that can fit this child? Oh and maybe a crib."

The two girls nodded gleefully and skipped down the hallway chanting in unison, "Sheets and clothes for the Mistress! Sheets and clothes for the Mistress!" Yuko smiled softly as she made her way to her bedroom, the crib having already been placed by Maru and Moro. It was then that she decided to take a closer look at the sleeping infant. Her soft tufts of hair were as black as the night sky, and though the child had yet to open her eyes Yuko knew that they would be the same azure color of her father. Now this child wasn't born like any other. She was the result of magic, a fleeting thought between two incredibly powerful people. Because of this thought she was born in a flash of light and floated down into the arms of her mother.

Yuko placed her daughter in the crib, placed a gentle kiss on her brow and whispered to her. "My dear Rika, you have the power to change everything."

* * *

><p>Eight years have passed since then and as Rika came home from school that day she was greeted by Maru and Moro instead of her mother. Scrunching her face in confusion she asked the two girls, "Hey where is Mama?"<p>

Maru's and Moro's faces remained passive as they replied, "The Mistress would like to see you in her viewing room." Both pointing their hands in the direction Rika knew as the room where her mother viewed clients. She walked through the hallway, her footsteps becoming the only sound throughout the large house. She slid the door open and she saw her mother dressed what looked to be a beautiful yukata with butterflies placed throughout the light blue silk, smoking from her pipe, lying on her couch. Maru and Moro came in after her and shut the door behind them and moved to sit next to their Mistress.

At this Rika soon became distressed and confused her eyes glistening with unshed tears and cried out a flurry of questions, "Mama! I don't understand. What is going on here? Why are Maru and Moro acting like this? Why didn't you greet me at the door like you usually do? Why are you smoking that pipe again? You know its bad for you!" It was at this moment that Yuko decided to raise her hand as a signal for Rika to stop talking. She extinguished her pipe and sat up and looked her daughter and spoke firmly. "Rika, I have something very important to tell you and it is of the utmost importance that you do not interrupt me. Are we clear?" Rika was struck silent by her mother's tone and looked down and muttered a quiet agreement.

"I have decided that you are old enough to finally understand what I am going to tell you." Yuko looked to her daughter who she saw was fidgeting and wringing her hands together in nervousness. "You aren't in trouble my dear so you can calm down. Its time that I told you, who you really are." Rika's head which had previously been tilted downward at her hands now shot up as she tried to question what her mother really meant, but Yuko held her hand up again to stop Rika from cutting in. "You said that you would not interrupt remember?" Rika feebly nodded again as she moved to sit on the floor.

Yuko continued, "My daughter you are unlike any other child your age. You realize this don't you? Sometimes when you walk around it feels as if the air is charged with electricity and you don't know what causes it. Am I correct?" Rika nodded again. "Other times it feels as if this power courses through your veins and then all of a sudden things around you being to move, such as dishes or your pencils and papers. Have you noticed that when you feel upset the weather reflects that and is cloudy even when it is said to be sunny all afternoon? Likewise when you are radiantly happy the sun shines brighter then ever before. Now why do you think that is?" Yuko got off the couch, her yukata trailing behind her. She bent down and caressed her daughter's face and wiped away any tears that fell from her blue eyes.

"Mama, I still don't understand. What do you mean?" Rika sniffled.

Yuko placed a kiss on her forehead to comfort the child and answered. "You my daughter are the creation of magic, a combination of magic to be correct. I was supposed to die a long long time ago. But I had a friend named Clow Reed. You could consider him your father I guess. He had one thought that I should remain alive and in that thought he also did not want me to be alone and so with both our magic we created a living being. That being was you." Rika's tears fell leaving the mats underneath her with little spots. She couldn't fully comprehend what her mother was telling her. All that she understood was the fact that she wasn't normal.

Rika shut her eyes and yelled at her mother, "So what am I? Some kind of freak? I'm already bullied at school because my eyes are a weird color. And its hard for me to make friends because everyone thinks I'm some kinda weirdo." Even more tears slipped through and her chest started to heave as sobs racked throughout her small body. Yuko's eyes shone with pain as she saw her daughter's crumpled form in front of her. She took her daughter into her arms and whispered into her ear. "No you aren't a freak. You are my daughter Rika Ichihara and I love you. You weren't some random happenstance. Fate brought you to me. It brought me a beautiful daughter who has powers beyond her imagination."

Rika wrapped her small arms around her mother and sobbed into her shoulders. Yuko remained still as she let her daughter cry and cry. She could only guess as to what was going on in the small girl's mind. She rubbed the back of Rika's head and continued. "You are human and at the same time not. You may not have been created out of love but you are surrounded by love now."

Rika pulled away from her mother and wiped her face of any remaining tears.

"I still don't understand everything. So I was made of magic? Like pulling a rabbit out of a hat? Like in those American shows?"

Yuko ran the back of her hand softly across her daughter's cheek and replied, "Yes you were made of magic but not that kind. That kind of magic is merely deception. People who perform that have no actual power."

Rika nodded stiffly, "I get it now."

Yuko couldn't help but smile at her daughter's effort of trying to understand such a complex subject. "Do you really? Everything that I told you?"

Rika then hung her head as she drew a circle on the ground and replied. "Well I know that I am not normal. But that makes me special. Right? I also know that I love you Mama and you love me and that will never change." Yuko looked at her daughter adoration shining through her eyes. "You are very right my dear."

Rika giggled and asked her mother, "I may not get everything now but you'll tell me what you mean when I'm older right?"

"Of course I will, but for now I want you to wear this necklace. Its almost your birthday right? Think of it as an early gift." Yuko answered as she held up a pendant held up on a silver chain. The pendant glittered in the light of the room; it was of silver framework and looked like stained glass with varying shades of blue from as light as the sky to so dark it could be mistaken for black. The pieces all shapes and sizes and the pendant contained one yellow crescent moon in the center. If anyone with magical training were to see this particular necklace one would recognize it as a seal. A seal to keep Rika's magical powers in line.

Rika's eyes widened as she happily exclaimed, "Wow Mama! That's so pretty! And it's all mine? Really? Thank you Mama!" The corners of Yuko's mouth lifted up as she placed the piece of jewelry around her daughter's neck. "Now that you have that why don't you go get changed and help Maru and Moro out with dinner?" Rika had nearly forgotten about her mother's two companions and as she scanned the room she came to the realization that they had disappeared during her talk with her mother. "Okay!" Rika said as she ran off to her room.

Yuko was left alone in the room, in the same position she had been when Rika left. Silent tears were falling down her face. She couldn't believe that her daughter could have a mood swing like that. It worried her to no end. No child should have to be told that they are in fact vastly different than everyone else. After all, all we want is to be "normal" right? "I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry. I couldn't tell you everything that I wanted to." Yuko whispered to the air, she held herself, as if trying to keep the pieces of herself together. "But everything has a price. If I told you anything more than that then the cost would be greater. I have to wait until you're older."

* * *

><p>Only a year has passed and on this spring day Rika was playing outside with Maru and Moro chasing butterflies when suddenly it seemed as if the sky had been stretched and in front of her there appeared two young men both holding on to the other.<p>

"Umm are you ok mister?" Rika asked gently as she approached the two brothers. One of them seemed to pull away and looked at her with his eyes the color of amber. "I'm fine." He responded. "Is this the place of the dimensional witch?" He looked at the small girl obviously sensing her great power. He was somewhat fearful that a human so young could posses that much power. Rika looked confused for a second as she tried to comprehend what the word 'dimensional' meant. She then snapped her fingers and exclaimed her fingers in realization, "Oh! You mean Mama! Hey Maru, Moro can you get Mama?"

"Mama…?" The man questioned his face contorting in confusion.

Rika looked at the strange man. "Hey is the other person ok?" she inquired, her head tilting to the side as she tried to get a better look at this mysterious person. It was then that the man looked to his companion. "Subaru! Wake up! We're here!" 'Subaru stirred and eventually his eyes fluttered open. "Kamui, where are we?" he asked groggily.

"You are in my home. Now shall I grant your wish?" Yuko appeared to the three of them in a blood red Chinese style dress. It reached the floor with a slit running from near the top of her thigh to the ground, her face passive.

"Mama!" Young Rika exclaimed. "This man here called you a 'Dimensional Witch' what does that mean?"

"I'll explain later Rika." Yuko told her daughter as she turned her attention to the two vampires. "What is your desire?" The two said nothing and Yuko pressed on, "Well what is it vampires?"

Rika piped in, "Vampires? Shouldn't you burn in the sun or something? That's what Chika tells me at least. He's really into that weird stuff." Yuko, Kamui, and Subaru ignored her. Subaru finally spoke up and said. "We want to cross the dimensions! Travel across different worlds. We want to escape this person who is chasing us. Please! Help us!" He pleaded. Yuko's face remained unreadable. Rika looked between her mother and the mysterious men. She had seen the people that wanted their wish granted but had never actually witnessed the exchange.

"I will require compensation, something that is not too little and not too great. The universe requires balance. You realize this yes?" Both men nodded in agreement. "Very well then, because there are two of you, you both must pay something. Now another note, traveling across the dimensions is highly disruptive so don't be surprised when I tell you your price." She finished.

"But we don't have any money with us!" Subaru interjected his face filled with fear that they may not be able to have their greatest desires granted.

Yuko looked at the vampire and continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Your price is not of any monetary value. First you must give up your freedom. By freedom I mean that you cannot ever separate from each other. You must stay together and travel the worlds together. One cannot cross the dimensions without the other, so none of the useless sibling spats. Got it?" Yuko crossed her arms and leaned against the wall of her house her face masking any emotions she may have felt.

"Is that it?" Kamui asked.

Yuko tilted her head as if trying to remember something "Hmm now that you mention it…You!" She pointed her finger at Kamui. "You seem to be more skilled when it comes to combat. Do you see that girl there in the cute little jumper? I want you to teach her everything you know about combat and fighting.

"WHAT?" Rika, Kamui, and Subaru said in unison.

"But Mama why do I need to learn-"

"Why should I teach that brat-"

"What an odd shop indeed." Were the three responses Yuko got at the same time. She stuck her finger in her ear as if that could help drown out the cacophony of sound. "Enough!" She yelled. "That is your price." Now how long do you plan on staying?" She inquired.

Both Kamui and Subaru looked at each other and without speaking nodded in a silent agreement. "One week." Subaru said.

"Alright then 1 week from now you will have the power to cross the dimensions." Yuko's face then brightened as she exclaimed "I think its time for some sake! Maru! Moro! Bring our three glasses and some juice for Rika!" Maru and Moro skipped

"Oh Mama… You and your customers are so strange…" Rika sighed. She turned to walk into the house but instead hit something that felt like a wall. "Oww." She rubbed her nose to soothe the pain and looked up. She had run into the backs of one of the vampires, which one she could not tell.

"Why hello there. We have not been properly introduced. My name is Subaru. What is your name my dear?" Subaru asked gently as he bent down and took her hand.

Rika's faced turned a slight pink as she faced the handsome vampire. "M-My name is R-Rika Ichihara. It is nice to meet you." Subaru smiled and kissed her hand.

"My how polite. Your mother has down a wonderful job in raising you." Subaru told her.

"Subaru! C'mon you should get inside." Kamui's voice advised from inside the house. Subaru chuckled lightly at his brother's overprotective nature and whispered to Rika. "Let's not keep them waiting." And they both walked into the house.

The days passed and Kamui begrudgingly trained young Rika. Even though she was excelling quickly at everything he taught her. He couldn't help but feel unsettled. She possessed so much power. Could a being like her really exist? "Ok stop runt. That's all I can teach you for now. It has been 7 days. It is time for Subaru and me to depart this world. Or else we'll be caught." Kamui said as he blocked one of Rika's kicks with his hand. He let go of her foot and walked towards his twin who had been watching them off to the side.

Rika huffed in disappointment that they wouldn't stay any longer. She had grown fond of the twins. She had even muttered in her sleep that she wanted to marry them. Something her mother would never let her live down. But she was still a child; she could have crushes if she wanted to. "You're leaving already? But you just got here Kamui!"

"They actually got here 7 days ago Rika. But you already knew that didn't you" Yuko said as she walked to the yard. Rika looked away as her face grew warm. "So this is it." Yuko stated. "You two will be granted the power to cross the dimensions. There will be an event that will reunite the three of you again. Be aware of that. I wish you luck in the future." Yuko with a wave of her arm had a seal appear at the feet of the twins. "You only need to stand together and earnestly wish to travel and that seal will appear. Remember you both must be present and of course awake to travel." Then Rika noted that it seemed as if the world was swallowing them whole and pulling them to the ground. Then they just vanished.

"Mama what was that?" Rika asked as she turned to her mother who started to return back inside. Yuko stopped and looked over her shoulder and said in her monotone voice. "That is only the beginning. I have to prepare you Rika. For the dream must end and you are vital in that endeavor."

"Mama is this like what you told me before? Like last year?" Rika pushed on asking her mother. Yuko sat on the wooden deck and beckoned her daughter closer. "Yes it is like that." She responded. Yuko then divulged to her the happenings all at Fei Wang Reed's hands. She learns of Fai, Kurogane, Syaoran, Sakura, and even Mokona. But that was only the beginning. Yuko pulled her daughter into her lap and wrapped her arms around her and whispered into her hair. "You have the power assist them. You can go along with them and help save Sakura and Syaoran. Would you like to do that?" She felt Rika nod. "Very well let's begin. You need to learn to harness your magical power. You did remember you had that right?" Yuko teased.

"Of course I remembered Mama! Its when you gave me the best birthday present ever." Rika fingered the pendant. "I really do love it Mama." Yuko smiled and kissed her daughter's head. "I know you do. Come, oh, and don't forget anything that Kamui told you. It is going to come in handy later." Yuko then let go of Rika and then walked back into the shop with a wink. Rika sighed, now used to her mother and her quirks and she too walked inside, waiting for that fateful day.

* * *

><p>Let me just start off by saying Hi! Its been years since I've actually submitted to Fanfiction... And let me just say I'm kinda embarrassed to go back and read it. I don't even remember how old I was when I typed that. Oh well this is my second fanfiction so please be kind! Constructive criticism would be great seeing as I have no idea what the hell to do structurally or grammatically. I know where I want this story to go.. Its just getting there that is the tough part. Oh well I'll learn along the way right? See you next time.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Rika woke up bright and early much to her chagrin. The sky was bright and the sun shined in stark contrast to how she was actually feeling. She could smell pancakes coming from her kitchen and she new her mother wouldn't be the one cooking. If it was in fact Yuko then Hell probably froze over. So she could only assume that Watanuki was forced to spend the night. It had been ten years since she learned that she had magical capabilities and nine years since she met the vampire twins. In those years she trained under her mother to help her harness her magical powers. She learned about seals, incantations, potions, and other things such as languages and history. She always found it interesting how the world she lived in could have so many languages to begin with. However the 'history' she learned wasn't exactly in a textbook. Instead they came from the stories she remembered as a little girl, stories of a princess and her best friend an archaeologist. She shook herself out of her reverie and decided to get ready for the day.

She went to the bathroom to freshen up and prepare for what would be coming in a few hours. She brushed her ink black hair as it fell down in waves to below her shoulder blades. How her mother could keep it so long and pin straight was a complete mystery to her. She looked in her reflection and saw her mother but at the same time wondered just who this Clow Reed could be the man who also contributed to her life and gave her these eyes. She then changed into navy blue shorts that allowed for movement and a simple black shirt. The only unusual part of her outfit was the cloak she grabbed off of her dresser. Like her pants they were of a navy blue but they seemed to sparkle in the light, just like the night sky. She fastened the cloak around her neck but yet left room for her pendant to still hang freely from her neck and started to walk to the kitchen.

Watanuki was finishing his last batch of pancakes when he heard a loud crash from down the hall. Surprised and concerned he went to check out what just happened and saw a blob of blue on the floor. Sighing in annoyance he asked her. "If you were supposedly trained by vampires why are you so clumsy?" At this Rika jumped to her feet and yelled at Watanuki. "Hey! I'm just clumsy ok! We all have our own little quirks! What about you Mr. ?"

"That's completely different!"

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"The pancakes are burning." A bland voice chimed from inside the kitchen. Both teens then ran to see if what they heard was true and sure enough the very last pancake Watanuki was burning on the stovetop. "AAAHH!" screamed Watanuki as flailed about the kitchen. "Take it off the stove you idiot!" Rika shouted.

"Take it off the stove! Take it off the stove!" Maru and Moro echoed. In all the commotion Watanuki did take the pan off the stove saving the shop from burning down. Both teens let out a sigh of relief until they heard quiet chuckling that turned into full blown laughter. They both looked to see where the noise was coming from and saw Yuko at the table with a plate of half eaten pancakes in front of her laughing so hard that tears were coming out of her eyes and her hand was slapping the table.

"Mom just what exactly is so funny?" Rika hesitantly asked. Watanuki nodded in agreement. "Yeah the house could have burned down just now Yuko. What is going on and why are you dressed like that?"

Yuko stopped her laughter and composed herself. "Well to answer your first question my dear daughter I am laughing at you and Watanuki. You two just get along so well. I'm going to be sad when you leave. Now for the second question Watanuki, we're going to have customers soon." Rika then took the time to fully take in her mother's bizarre outfit. She was in a full black dress with accents and trim of white, with a headpiece that created a loop in her hair. There seemed to be some sort of stick thing that let two ribbons fall on either side of her face. The symbol of a crescent moon seemed to be prevalent throughout the entire dress. Yuko noticed the strange looks on both Rika's and Watanuki's face, "What is that face for?" Yuko asked indignantly. "I happen to think I look great in this!" She grumbled.

"Its nothing Mama" Rika waved off her question as she left the kitchen suddenly not hungry anymore. She walked down the hall and then slid a door open and was greeted by the fresh air. Something was different though. She looked up and the sky was gray, but how? When she woke up it was a bright and sunny day. "Its time." She heard from her right. Rika whipped her head and saw that her mother was now next to her. "A-Already? Its barely even ten o'clock in the morning!" Rika sputtered.

Yuko glanced down at her daughter before proceeding to the yard, "Don't you remember what I told you? There is no such thing as coincidence?"

"Well yeah but how does that work here?" Rika interrupted.

Yuko stared in front of her and firmly replied, "We cannot control when and where something happens. It will just happen. That is the inevitability of our world, of all worlds."

"Wait what? Mom!" Rika cried. She had gained the attention of Watanuki who too came outside along with Maru and Moro.

Then like that scene with the twin vampires and then the treasure hunters after them, the world stretched until it seemed to be popped and two people appeared. It was at that moment that rain began to fall softly on everyone around the shop.

"What's… going on here?" Watanuki asked Rika quietly as he stared at the boy and girl.

"Those people there, they've come from another world. A completely new dimension!" Rika replied as she too stared at the scene before her. There was a boy holding a girl close to him as if protecting her from any threat that could appear. The girl dressed in pink seemed to be unconscious. "Umm hey Mom are they ok?" Rika asked as she slowly walked forward not deterred by the rain.

Yuko ignored her question and remained looking forward. Then just like the boy two more bubble like things appeared and in their stead two men appeared. Rika noted that one looked like a skilled swordsman while the other appeared to be a wizard. Her eyes widened in realization. These were the very people her mother told her stories about. They were going to collect the feathers of Sakura's memories. She had been waiting for this for 9 years. She also noted that most of them seemed to have a strange liking for large cloaks. "How odd." She said quietly.

"Please madam I need your help! This girl I carry here is a princess. Can you help me save her life?" The boy pleaded. Rika knew immediately that he was Syaoran and the girl he held was Sakura. Her mom held her hand against Sakura's head and told Syaoran that Sakura had lost the very fragments of what made her Sakura,

"….Fragments have been scattered across the dimensions. Without these fragments your princess will die." Yuko told Syaoran bluntly. This was not the time to mince words Rika realized.

The swordsman on her mother's right then cut in "Enough of this drama who are you and where am I?"

Yuko was not fazed by his demand and politely asked him to introduce himself first.

"Tch, my name is Kurogane now what is this place?" He responded irritably.

"You're in Japan." Rika pointed out.

"I'm from Japan and I know this isn't it!" Kurogane said in disbelief.

Yuko remained passive as she told him that this was in fact a different Japan than where he was from. She then turned to her left to the tall blonde man dressed in white robes. "Who are you?" She asked.

He bowed his head and answered, "Just a humble wizard from Celes. My name is Fai D. Flowright." Yuko then stood up and turned to Rika and Watanuki. "Watanuki go to the warehouse and fetch what they need. Rika come stand next to me."

"Ok." Was the reply she got from both. Watanuki guided by Maru and Moro ran off until the sound of their footsteps were overpowered by the rain. Rika then turned back forward having watched him go and slowly walked to her mother.

"The only thing I care about now is saving Princess Sakura! Please help me! I'll do anything!" Syaoran urged.

Yuko smiled and said, "But we haven't finished all the introductions yet." She then turned to Rika who had dazed off lost in her own thoughts. When she was aware that all the attention was on her she stammered. "Uhh. My name is Rika Ichihara." She bowed her head lightly to the four people in front of her.

"Now there is one way to save that girl's life, all the pieces of her memory which have been scattered across all time and space must be collected." Yuko stated.

Syaoran looked confused for a few seconds and then uttered. "Pieces.. Fragments… Do you mean those feathers that I saw?"

Yuko nodded and continued, "Yes, each and every one of those feathers represent a memory she had. If you collect them all then you will save her life."

.

"Its what you desire. Isn't it?" Yuko asked Syaoran. He agreed. She then asked the two men their wish.

"Send me back to my home world!" Kurogane remarked his face etched in irritation.

Fai smiled lightly and replied, "Any world other than my own would be desirable."

Yuko then turned fully to Rika and asked, "Now what do you wish for my dear daughter?" Rika was struck speechless. She knew her mother granted wishes. But she never thought that she herself would be a customer. She had always assumed that she was forbidden from doing so. The possibilities ran across her mind. Did she want fame? Or did she want power? Was it money? No. It was none of these. She hung her head and played with her pendant. She whispered, "I want to find my purpose. Why am I here? You said it was fate but is there something more to that? I want to help Syaoran. We may be strangers to each other but like you always say Mom there is no such thing as coincidence. I was meant to help him."

Yuko then moved to face all five of us as she said, "It seems that the solution for all of you is the same. Fai you are a fugitive and do not wish to return to the world where you came from. You, Kurogane want to find a path back to your home. Syaoran you wish to collect all of Sakura's feathers that are spread throughout the dimensions. Now you my daughter wish to seek your purpose in this life. It is somewhere along the path but you will find it. Your goals may be different but the path is the same. You all need to travel the dimensions. But to do so a price must be paid." These words rang in Rika's ears. She had heard them before, from the vampire twins Kamui and Subaru to Seishiro and Fuma. She could only speculate as to what her sacrifice would be.

Yuko continued, "I do not have the power to grant each of your wishes directly so we must find a way to combine them into one wish. First all of you must sacrifice your greatest treasure. The balance of the universe depends on it."

"Like what?" Kurogane retorted.

Yuko did not hesitate in answering. "For you Kurogane your price is your sword."

"Silver Dragon? You expect a swordsman to part with his blade?" He cried in indignation.

Rika could only stare as her mother remained collected as Yuko interjected, "I ask for nothing Kurogane, but if you do wish to return home then that is the only way." She then started to poke his chest. "What's it going to be Mr. Dark and Gloomy?"

"I'll be back for this Witch." He growled. He then held his sword up and the sword glowed and floated from his hand to Maru's. Yuko then looked at Fai and added, "For your payment wizard, the tattoo on your back will suffice." Fai seemed surprised at this and tried to bargain. "Wouldn't you rather have this staff instead?" He hinted. Rika knew her mother wouldn't budge.

"No." Yuko informed Fai. "The sacrifice is measured by the worth to that person." Fai conceded and miraculously the tattoo was lifted from his back and into Moro's arms. Yuko surprised Rika by turning to her next. "My daughter your price is that pendant."

Rika looked up at her mother and shouted in surprise. "What! Why this?"

"I'm sure you know what this actually is. Don't you?" Yuko asked. Rika was frustrated. She had found out in her studies that the pendant she wore besides being a beautiful necklace was a seal. What type of seal she was unable to figure out. "Why this Mom? Why not I don't know my manga collection or something?" She pleaded.

"You don't know what that seal does so you fear it. Because you fear it you keep it close to you at all times. Am I correct in assuming this?" Yuko asked her daughter. Rika nodded. "I know that you have been researching what it is your pendant does. I apologize for not telling you earlier. That seal works to keep your powers suppressed. What you can do know is only half and what you should be able to. And your powers can still grow. Do you understand me?"

"I do Mother." Rika whispered. She undid the hook on the chain and grabbed the pendant and collected it in her hand. She then turned to place it in her mother's outstretched hand. The second it left her fingers Rika felt a surge of power flash within her body. She screamed in pain as she fell to the ground as her body tried to acclimate to all the magic it was now receiving. "What happened?" She panted. Rika grasped at her chest trying to alleviate the searing pain that shot throughout her body. It seemed as if someone was able to pour fire into her blood.

"That was your magic returning to you. You should be alright in a few minutes." Yuko explained. Her body was locked in its position with her hands and knees on the ground her head hanging, the rain hitting her back. A few more moments passed and Yuko deemed her ok as she continued. "As for you Syaoran, I will take your bond." The voice of her mother echoed in her mind.

"I don't think I understand you madam." Syaoran stated confusedly..

"Your greatest treasure is not any physical object like a sword or a necklace but your relationship with the very girl you hold in your arms. So that is your sacrifice." Yuko stated

"Does this mean I'll never see her?" He asked.

"No. Even if you were to collect all the shards and pieces of her memories, Sakura will never remember the relationship she had with you or what you mean to her. Now what does she mean to you?" Yuko inquired. Rika stood up on unstable legs and even through her hazy mind she could see the love and adoration shining in Syaoran's eyes.

"She is my Princess." He began. "She is my dearest friend. She… She means everything to me. But I'll give her up if that's what it takes to save her. I can't just let her die because I'm selfish!" He sobbed.

"I must warn you though you will travel to many different worlds and it will be extremely difficult. For every world has its own danger and hazards. Because of this you must all rely on each other." She looked to each of them. "You can travel from world to world but only fate can decide where you will actually end up. You can help each other or not. If you so choose. You will also meet people that you know from your world in another world. But they will not know you and they will have lived completely different lives. Sometimes you may find worlds based on corruption, filed with criminal, or those in the midst of war. These feathers could be anywhere. It will be a long long journey. Are you prepared to handle that?" She looked at Syaoran and Rika specifically.

"Yes." He replied. Rika simply nodded still recovering from the release of her seal. Watanuki had finally returned with two rabbit creatures in his arms, one black with a blue jewel and the other white with a red jewel.

Yuko held out her hand and the white one jumped and landed on it. "These are the Mokona Modoki. This specific one will help guide you to the different worlds." 'Mokona' gave a little salute to all of us.

"Wait a second if there is two then give me the black one." Kurogane commented.

"The black one will enable you to contact me if you need to" Yuko answered. "The white Mokona has the power to take you from world to world but its only fate and destiny that dictates where you will and up. Remember there is no such thing as coincidence. There is only the inevitable. It was inevitable that you all would meet." Yuko then held her arms up and motioned for Rika to stand with the others. "Goodbye everyone. Goodbye my daughter. Now go." The white Mokona in her hands started to glow and grow wings. A seal appeared in front of the five travelers and light surrounded them. They were then engulfed in this blinding light. Rika who had just recovered found that spots were appearing in her vision and everything faded to black.

* * *

><p>And here is chapter 2! The story arc is actually starting! Woohoo \o

Thank you for reading chapter two of Never Coincidence! This story is unbeta-ed because having been gone for however many years as a write I have no idea how to do it! I'll see you next time! Oh! I don't own Tsubasa Chronicle! The wonderful CLAMP owns all rights to it. They are completely amazing.

For those of you curious, this will be anime based. I wish I owned all the manga but that is simply not the case. I do however have both seasons, the movie, and access to the OVA's. For the time between the OVA's and the end... Let's hope the Wiki helps! Also in regards to last chapter I have no idea what Kamui and Subaru paid for the ability to travel the dimensions. So I took some creative license. I think this is all for now. See you next time!


	3. Chapter 3

She seemed to be floating. Floating towards where she did not know. Rika's eyes fluttered open and she saw that she was heading headfirst into an abyss. She looked around but she could not find any of her companions, not the swordsman, the wizard, or Syaoran and Sakura. What she saw instead was a steadily approaching figure. She could feel the air being charged with electricity. She oriented herself so she was in a standing position and stared ahead. The closer this figure got the more she could recognize it. It was a large horse, its held was held high and its mane and tail seemed to be made of lightning bolts. Something Rika noted as looking particularly dangerous.

"Who or what are you?" Rika squeaked out in fear that it would attack her ending her journey as soon as it began.

"I am master and servant, protector and guard to those who are allies to electricity and lightning." A deep voice spoke to her. "You girl possess immense power, but that alone will not be enough in the future. You will need the assistance of allies in the worlds to come." The horse then started to gallop towards Rika. Her eyes widened in fear and she raised her arms in an effort to help protect herself from the blow. However the stallion disappeared into her chest. She blinked a few times and placed a hand on her chest trying to validate what had just happened. "What in the world… What just happened to me?" She wondered.

"Hey Missy! It's time to wake up! Wake up wake up!" A shrill voice called from beyond. Rika's eyes shot open. She immediately regretted doing so as she brought her hand up to shield her poor retina's from the sudden assault. She then sat up and blinked a few times trying to take in her surroundings. She noticed that the wizard and Mr. Gloom and Doom were awake along with Mokona. Syaoran and Sakura appeared to be asleep. Looking to this new world she found that it looked strikingly similar to Japan. It had shops and billboards, along with cars and buses. But what seemed off was that the vehicles seemed to be in ruin and piled on one side. That fact puzzled her.

Syaoran began to stir and ignored Mokona and her and instead was stuck in his own mind. He asked what he had missed and Fai had informed him that they had just woken up themselves. "I can tell you one thing though Syaoran. This is nothing like the world I'm from."

"Its nothing like my home world either." Kurogane grumbled. Fai then chose that moment to formally introduce himself. Rika turned to him and found him quite attractive. His blue eyes seemed to shine in the sunlight. But his smile, there was something off putting about it. It was if he had something to hide. Something very dark. "Now what about you my mysterious friend in black?" a voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"My name is Kurogane."

"Hmm that seems too long. How about Kurgy? Or even better Kuro-poo?" Fai teased.

"Kuro-poo Kuro-poo!" Mokona echoed.

Kurogane's eyebrows furrowed in irritation as he snapped, "Kuro-poo? My name is Kurogane!"

"I wonder what happened here. There seems to be a lot of damage to the surrounding area." Rika pondered. Fai nodded in agreement. "Yes there does seem to be some sort of conflict."

"What are you guys doing out here? You have to get out of there!" A boy in a black uniform screamed.

"Umm what do you mean?" Rika asked hesitantly.

"Please don't tell me you're not from here. You need to get out of this place! It's not safe! I don't have time to explain. They're going to start soon!" the boy implored.

"Who is going to start what? Fai wondered. A bang was heard and Rika turned her head behind her and she saw a large group of mowhawked men. She then turned around and saw another group of men but instead wearing goggles and white scarves. Both sides had a certain fire in their eyes: The fire of battle. (Something she learned from her mother's strange television shows)

"O-Oh no. We're too late. What do we do?" The boy stammered. He then saw a bus and car next to each other along with a stack of tires. "There! C'mon you guys!" The boy then led the five of them to some sort of shelter. "Those two gangs have been fighting over the territory around this bridge since before I can even remember. But its gotten even more heated as of late. I guess this is the last big push." He explained.

"All this fuss over a bridge? Its not even that great anyway." Rika muttered.

Fai who had Mokona in his arms retorted, "I think it's the sentimental value that really matters here my dear." Rika blushed lightly at the pet name. Why did she blush? She had barely even known him for a few hours and he had such an effect on her. It was unheard of. She mentally slapped herself for being overwhelmed by a pretty face. 'Rika Rika Rika! Focus! You know who he is. You know what he hides.' She shook it off and looked to the scene in front of her.

"A fight sounds interesting. But how are they going to fight? None of them have any weapons of any kind." Kurogane pointed out.

The boy now known as 'Masayoshi' snickered at Kurogane's question. "Of course they're not going to use weapons! They're going to use their Kudan!'

Rika at this point was confused. "Kudan? What is that?" She didn't get a response as the leader of the Mowhawk gang yelled out to his men and the battle begun. Both groups of men held out their arms and orbs of light seemed to collect above their wrists. These balls of light then shot out and struck the other side. "So this Kudan," she began, "It's the stuff that they're shooting at each other right?"

Masayoshi looked at her in disbelief. "You've really never heard of it?" he said exasperatedly. Syaoran gasped behind her and it seemed as if he realized something. Upon pondering Rika wondered if the mysterious horse was in any way related to this 'Kudan'. Her eyes widened in shock and her palms became clammy did that mean that she had some sort of power? More than she already had?

"What's wrong with you two? Are you guys scared or something?" Kurogane asked.

"Maybe this will help with some of your trouble." Fai added as he reached into Syaoran's green cloak. He pulled his hand out and in his grip was a beautiful feather with a red heart shaped design on it.

"That's a feather!" Syaoran cried. "What a coincidence. Wouldn't you agree?"

Fai closed his eyes, a contemplative look on his face. "Coincidence is a myth. Only inevitability exists." He opened his eyes, a teasing look on his face. "That's what the Dimensional Witch said right?"

"Hey don't make fun of my mom you dumb wizard." Rika huffed.

"I'm not making fun of her. I'm merely stating that what she said is true. Syaoran it was inevitable that you would find this feather. Or maybe you just got lucky after all! Who knows?" He tilted his head as he giggled. "Here you should give it to her quickly." At that moment a red orb was heading there way and struck the ground sending debris everywhere. The feather left Syaoran's hand and floated to the middle of the battlefield. Syaoran leaped after it desperate to catch it.

"H-Hey! Syaoran what are you doing? You need back up!" Rika stood up and ran after him to see if she could help. Rika leaped and dodged any incoming attacks as she tried to catch up with Syaoran. One thought came across her mind. Why was she helping him? She knew that he could protect himself. So why did she bother? Was it a motherly instinct? No. It wasn't that. He reminded her of someone. Watanuki's face flashed in her mind. That couldn't be it. Watanuki was an annoying brat that always made fun of her. Granted she made fun of him as well. She'd have to answer that question later.

She used her hand as support as she flipped forward as a kudan was shot inches in front of her face. "Syaoran! Watch out!"

"Hey who are those two brats Boss?" A voice said from the top of the building.

"They're spies of Shogo's! Go get them!" The boss yelled. Rika noticed that all of their attacks were now focused on her and Syaoran. Syaoran reached for the feather but it seemed to fly out of his reach. He wasn't paying attention and he slipped on a rock and he fell forward becoming entangled in his own clothes. He reached out just as he was about to hit the ground and managed to catch the feather. It was at that moment that someone had fired straight at him. Rika's body nearly froze in fear. She had to do something. "Syaoran!" She screamed as she leapt at him and tried to cover him with her own body.

"Ahhh!" They both screamed preparing for the blow their eyes shut tight in fear. However they were both confused when the pain never came. They opened their eyes and saw in front of them what looked to be a mighty dog engulfed in flames and the stallion covered in lightning from Rika's dream.

"So you weren't just a dream after all." Syaoran muttered.

"What! You had a dream that your kudan came to you? Me too!" Rika exclaimed. She realized that this was neither the time nor place to discuss this so she shut her mouth. They both stood up and faced their attacker, their kudan by their side.

"Thank you for saving our lives." Syaoran said. Rika nodded in agreement. "Would you be so kind enough as to help me protect Sakura?" He said facing his kudan who seemed to give his approval. Rika then turned to her own kudan and looked into his eyes. "Will you help me protect him? I don't know why but I have this overwhelming desire to protect him; him and the others. Will you help?" She pleaded quietly so that Syaoran wouldn't hear.

"Yes." A low voice said in her mind.

"Thank you." She whispered.

A loud screeching voice was heard in the distance. "I want those spies! I don't care if you have to shoot your own mother! You're dead meat! Especially you flameboy!" At this moment Rika's kudan started into a gallop and jumped into the air and hit the orb of the gang's collected kudan, effectively firing it back at the men. The leader shook in fear, his own plan backfiring. "Ruuuun!" He sputtered as he fled the battle.

Rika's kudan then turned around and slowed to a canter as it approached her. She thanked him and stroked his forehead and mane, feeling it crackle beneath her fingers. A loud metallic crunch could be heard behind her and Syaoran and the spun around to see who made the noise.

"That was an impressive show you and your kudan put on you kids, especially you cutie." He winked in her direction but she scoffed at his gesture. "My name is Shogo Asagi and who are you?"

Syaoran looked up at him, "Syaoran." He responded.

Shogo then turned to Rika, "What about you sweetheart?"

"My name is Rika Ichihara. "She said with her teeth clenched. She couldn't stand over cocky guys. But she guessed that he was strong so some of it was warranted.

"What a beautiful name for a beautiful girl." Shogo then turned to Syaoran. "Well Syaoran do you know what happens to fire when it meets water? Well you're about to find out." He called out his kudan which took on the form of a large manta ray. "It looks like I found myself a worthy opponent. Sorry babe but I don't fight girls, my girlfriend would be mad if I did that." At this Rika stomped her foot and grumbled about sexism and the like. Shogo's kudan then sent a large ball of water at Syaoran, which his own kudan then destroyed. A wailing siren could be heard from a few miles away. At this Shogo and his gang scattered to avoid being caught.

Syaoran then turned his attention to the unconscious princess and he placed the feather close to her which was then absorbed into her chest. The effect of having that one feather was immediate and Rika noticed that her skin began to gain some color. Syaoran even said that her body was becoming warmer as well.

"It's about time we found you guys!" a mysterious voice said. Everyone turned their heads to the direction the voice came from. Rika saw that it was a young man and woman.

"Who are you?" Kurogane asked. The man smiled and responded, "My name is Sorata Arisugawa. The lovely lady next to me is my wife Arashi. She nodded and greeted them. "Come on guys!" He continued. "We'll take care of you guys while you're here. Follow me!" Everyone blinked in confusion and looked at each other. Syaoran, who had then held Sakura in his arms, looked to the older girl with the striking blue eyes. Rika just shrugged and got up and started to follow the couple. The travelers walked in silence, the only sounds being their footsteps and the ground and the occasional doting of Sorata to Arashi. "Ahh! Here we are, home sweet home!" Sorata turned to them a goofy smile on his face. Masayoshi, who had been following them as well, bid them goodbye as everyone entered the boarding house.

Sorata began to explain that Arashi was a priestess and that is how they knew that Syaoran and the others would be arriving. The boarding house is how they supported themselves and everyone was invited to make themselves at home. Sorata and Arashi then showed them the room where they would be staying. There was a window straight across from the door and a small television was off in a corner. Rika noticed that there was only one pillow and blanket situated on the floor. While the started to sit down and rest for the day Rika thought 'Where were they supposed to sleep?' At this moment she missed her comfy bed but then she remembered what her mother had told Syaoran. This journey would not be easy. The fact that she had a roof over her head was a blessing and that she was being ungrateful. In spite of that, she still was curious as to why strangers would be so kind to them. Syaoran voiced his concern. "Thank you Sorata, but I still understand. Why are you being so kind to us? After all we're nothing but a bunch of strangers to you."

"Well it's a long story, but to sum it up Arashi and I owe a whole lot to the Dimensional Witch. Because of that we fully intend to look after you guys as long as you're in our world, with only one rule." He then pointed a finger at Kurogane, "If you try and seduce my sweet Arashi, you'll be sorry you ever came here!" A gleeful smile on his face.

"Why are you looking at me when you say that?" Kurogane asked indignantly.

"I'm joking! I'm joking! But seriously you'll be sorry. " Sorata laughed. Rika looked at Sorata with disbelief. She barely knew Kurogane and even she knew that Sorata probably wouldn't win in a fight. She sighed. The thought of an over-protective husband was kinda cute though. A love like that was something to be admired.

"Well I'll leave you guys to get settled." Sorata then left closing the door behind him.

Fai who had Mokona in his arms smiled, "Well that was pleasant wasn't it?" He was ignored as Rika watched Syaoran put Sakura to bed being ever so gentle. He laid her down and tucked her in placing her arms on top of the blanket.

"You really do love her. Don't you Syaoran?" She asked. She didn't get a reply instead Kurogane burst in with a question. "Hey kid why did you jump in there like that?"

"Me?" Rika and Syaoran chorused. Kurogane sighed and pointed at Rika. "You there, you so-called daughter of the Dimensional Witch."

Rika stiffened. "Uh.. I don't know why I went after him. I just felt this jolt or something and I had to go with him. I mean did you see all those guys? He could have seriously gotten hurt!"

Kurogane stared at her his eyes seemingly searching for an answer in her own eyes. "But why? You don't know him. You don't know us."

Rika lowered a head a little and whispered, "I know more than you think Kurogane. A lot more…" Fai then chose his moment to ask about how they would find the remaining feathers. However Rika heard none of it. She curled up and wrapped her arm around her legs. She lost herself in her mind. Was this really what she wanted? Why did she question herself? Why did she answer her own questions with a question? "Arrrgh I'm so confused!" She yelled suddenly grabbing her dark hair. She looked up and saw her companions with identical looks of confusion. "I need some air. I'll be right back." She forced out. Rika rushed out of the room leaving no room for questions. She made it outside the boarding house not wanting to get lost. She sat on the ground and slapped her forehead. 'Why did I do that? Now they must think I'm weird. Well I guess I am weird. I went into battle for a guy I don't know. At least Syaoran had a reason! What's my reason?' She sighed and stared at the sky as it slowly changed from hues of pink and yellow, to black with the stars winking at her.

"So this is where you ran off to huh?" A familiar voice called to her. She turned her head and saw Fai looking down at her his familiar grin plastered on his face.

"Yep I'm here. Why are you out here anyway?"

"I just came to see if you were ok. You certainly caused a commotion. Mokona and Syaoran are worried about you." Fai told her.

"What about Kurogane?" Rika asked. Fai shrugged his shoulder and replied, "Well he seems a little tenser than before but he hasn't said anything yet. So what's up?" He moved to sit next to her.

"Nothing. I'm just confused." She murmured.

"What you said seems to be two contradicting statements." Fai teased.

Rika let out an angry breath. "Well when you were raised by a woman who could grant wishes, two girls with no souls, and all sorts of supernatural beings you would think that I wouldn't have many problems! But noooo! I'm outside a boarding house in a different world with no idea what I'm supposed to do!"

"Well while I have no idea what it is that you should do,I do know that this journey is far from anything normal." He stopped and played with a few strands of her hair before letting them fall. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. After all like you said you are Yuko's daughter. From what I saw your mother is a very impressive woman and I'm sure you are as well."

Rika turned her head away from him. "I just know so much about you guys. I feel connected to you guys. But I know that you guys, especially Kurogane don't trust me."

Fai tilted his head in confusion, "Oh just what do you know little sorceress?" Rika shook her head and moved to get up and walk back inside. Just before she passed the threshold she whispered, "I know a lot… Yui." She didn't turn around, but if she were to she would have seen the astonished look on Fai's face.

* * *

><p>Blargh! Another chapter! -headdesk- Did anyone ever tell you that writing was easy? BULL! This is hard to write but at least I'm having fun right...? I'll see you next time!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Rika was woken up by bits of conversation. She forced her eyes open and saw Fai inches away from her face. "Well good morning! Did you sleep well?" He asked innocently.

"No. I didn't. My side hurts and I have a stiff neck." She bit out.

"Really? That sounds marvelous!" He giggled. Rika groaned and shut her eyes again begging for sleep to come back to her. "Oh no you don't!" Fai said as he shook her shoulders. "Arashi has some clothes for you so we can start searching for Sakura's feather!"

"Mmmfff Go away." She said. Fai continued shaking her shoulders, in frustration she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Ok fine. I'm up. Now where are these clothes you speak of?" she growled

"Arashi will be here in a sec to give them to you. Meet us outside when you're ready ok?" Fai then left the room with a playful wink. Rika looked around the room and saw that the only other person in the room was Sakura who was sleeping as soundly as ever. 'She looks so peaceful' Rika thought to herself 'Hopefully we find her feather soon. Syaoran is going to get gray hair pretty soon.' A knock from the door alerted Rika.

"Its me Rika. I have some clothes for you. Hopefully they fit you." Arashi said sticking her head around the door. She then placed some clothes in Rika's hands. "You can get changed in here. Just be sure to close the curtain to keep yourself safe from prying eyes."

"Thanks Arashi. For everything." Rika told her.

Arashi smiled, "You're welcome." She then left closing the door.

When Rika had finished changing (With the curtains closed) she finally took a closer look at her clothes. She was wearing a white top that cinched at the bottom of her breasts and flowed down. Arashi had also given her a light blue skirt that had ruffles that reached to her knees and had a black bow on the hip. 'Arashi couldn't find any pants? Or even some shorts?' she thought to herself. 'Oh well I guess.' She brushed her hair and decided that any styling would be futile. It was just going to get messed up anyways. Her hair always managed to become a bird's nest at the end of the day, regardless of what she did. She sighed and walked outside to meet her companions. Once there she saw Sorata give Syaoran a frog coin pouch. "That's kinda cute." She blurted out.

Everyone's attention now turned to her. "Umm hi guys." She nervously said as she waved to them.

"Now don't you just look cute?" Fai smiled.

"Super duper cute! Just wait until Yuko sees!" Mokona squealed. Rika blushed and looked down.

"Yes you look very nice Rika." Syaoran said a small smile on his face as well. Rika then took the time to see everyone else's outfits. She thought that they looked rather nice as well. She stifled a laugh as she saw Kurogane fiddling with the collar of his shirt.

"We're going to start now. So we'll be off" Syaoran told Sorata and Arashi.

"I'll take care of Sakura. You be safe ok?" Arashi said.

"That's some lunch money I gave you in that frog ok? Share with everyone." Sorata explained.

Kurogane retorted "Why does the kid get to hold the money?"

Sorata laughed. "I don't know he just seems to be the most responsible looking out of all of you!" At this Rika furrowed her eyebrow, she didn't know whether to feel offended because she looked irresponsible or complimented because she wasn't so serious. She then let it go. It wasn't a big deal to her anyway.

With a wave to Sorata and Arashi, the four of them plus Mokona made their way back to the bridge. When they arrived Fai put Mokona on the edge. Mokona tried to sense the feather again. Rika who had been staring off turned to look at Mokona and burst out a loud laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Mokona with what looked to be an angry look on her face.

"You look like you're having trouble going to the bathroom." Rika howled. Nobody else shared in her laughter. Seeing this Rika straightened up. "Oh right. We mean serious business. Sorry about that." She nervously said. A few more moments passed and Mokona attempted to sense the feather another time.

"I don't feel anything Syaoran. I'm sorry." Mokona finally said.

"Its ok." Syaoran replied, looking slightly defeated.

Fai looked at Mokona "So you could feel the feather here yesterday but today there's nothing. How odd. What do you think it means?"

"I think it means.." Rika began.

"Is that..? Yes its her alright!" Kurogane mumbled. Everyone turned in Kurogane's direction and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. All of a sudden Kurogane broke out into a sprint.

"And there he goes." Fai noted nonchalantly

"Don't get lost!" Rika motherly yelled.

Fai stared at her a knowing smile on his face. "You care a lot about people don't you?"

She looked up at him. "Well its just that I worried a lot back home. My mom would leave on house calls or on different journeys. Then there were the times when she drank a little too much and would break things. Then when Watanuki came along she drank every night sometimes during the day." Rika massaged her temples, "I wonder what she's doing now, hopefully nothing life threatening. But to answer your question: Yes. I do care. Who knows it could be my downfall." She looked up at him with questioning eyes "Should we go after him?"

Fai looked at Syaoran and her, "Kurgy likes to do his own thing. I think we should concentrate on finding that feather." At that moment Mokona started to float away from them.

"Uhh I guess Mokona picked something up guys." Rika observed. The three of them ran after Mokona and when they found her she seemed to be jumping in front of a food place.

"Something here smells delicious! Come on time to eat Mokona's hungry!" Mokona chanted.

Rika and Syaoran stared at the fuzzball and blinked in confusion and disbelief. Fai laughed and had that same smile and reasoned, "Well, we did skip out on breakfast." Fai then took Mokona in his arms and ushered the other two inside.

"Welcome." Two voices chorused. There were two men. One with light gray hair and glasses the other with black hair and dark eyes. "How many people in your party?" the man with glasses asked.

Fai answered. "Four. Well three plus this little white beast."

"Three it is then."

"Your Majesty!" Syaoran said to the man with dark hair. "What are you doing here?" The man only blinked in confusion. They were seated at a table and the man Syaoran spoke to earlier 'Touya' explained that the only title he had was 'Okonomiyaki Chef'

Fai who was seated next to Syaoran whispered to him. "Your majesty eh? So does that mean you recognize these men?"

"Yeah"

"Then they have parallels in this world, your king and high priest." Fai said knowingly. "Well the Dimensional Witch said this would happen."

"Yeah don't you guys pay attention?" Rika said with a mouthful of food. She swallowed and said, "You are bound to find people that you recognize. It is just a matter of when. Also these people will have no knowledge of you. They will be living entirely different lives in these worlds we visit."

"Yes." Fai agreed. "They may look the same but they have completely different memories. They only have one thing that is the same between them"

"What part?" Syaoran asked.

"Its their essence, the most basic element of their whole being."

"Do you mean their souls?"

Fai nodded, "Something like that."

Syaoran then had a contemplative look, "Do you think that's what happened to Kurogane? Do you think he found someone that looked familiar to him?"

"I have no doubt that is what happened to Kurogane. He's so impulsive sometimes. He's going to get lost." Rika quipped waving her chopsticks in the air. She then held her head in her hands. "I'm going to get gray hairs before I'm twenty five. I just know it." Fai reached across the table and patted her head.

"There there I'm sure Kuro-poo will be just fine." He reassured her. They ate their food in a comfortable silence, only Mokona's gleeful laughs being heard between them. 'There is so much going on. We're all in our own worlds' Rika thought.

They paid for their food and said goodbye to the two men at the restaurant. Hours passed and they had walked all over town and Mokona still hadn't sensed anything. The sky was beginning to darken Rika felt a little uneasy walking around at night. She shuddered. 'I think I've been spending too much time with Watanuki. His overly nervous tendencies are rubbing off on me'

"I think we should go back. Its getting dark, plus we haven't seen Kurogane at all." She suggested.

Syaoran looked towards the sky, "I guess you're right. Let's go." As they walked back to the boarding house Mokona got bored and would let everyone know about it.

"Mokona's bored. Entertain me!" the creature said for what felt like the 50th time as it hung on Syaoran's shoulders. Rika was beginning to grow irritated. Her neck was tensing and she was gritting her teeth.

"Ok!" She yelled grabbing Mokona, stopping the furry rabbit thing from complaining. "I have an idea. Why don't we play a game? Does that sound good?" She asked lightly shaking Mokona.

"Yay a game! How do you play?" Mokona asked.

"Well I'd say we're about ten to fifteen minutes away from the house, so from now until then you have to jump on Fai's, Syaoran's and my shoulder. We're going to try to avoid you ok? If you land on one of our shoulders before then you win. If not, we win. Do you get it?

"Yup yup! Let's start!" Mokona said gleefully. She then flew out of Rika's hands and towards Fai. "Wheeee!" Syaoran, Fai, and Rika all laughed at Mokona's excitement over this simple game. They ran away covering their shoulders with their hands. An action when seen by a passerby looked very odd.

"You can't catch me Mokona!" Fai yelled, running goofily.

Syaoran ducked as Mokona came flying towards his face, not anticipating this Mokona flew straight into the ground with a resounding thud. Rika rushed to the little creature's side. "Mokona? Are you ok?" she asked, picking her up and checking for any injuries.

The fur ball then leaped to her chest. "Haha! I gotcha! I win!" Rika then held Mokona to her. "I guess you did." She said smiling at the white furball in her arms.

"Ahh Rika! We were winning! We almost made it back too!" Fai whined. True to his word the boarding house was not even ten feet in front of them. Rika turned to him; he looked like a kicked puppy with his eyes close to tears. She rolled her eyes and hit the back of his head and walked inside. When they reached their room, all four of them saw Kurogane cleaning a large blue sword. Rika blinked in confusion a few times before moving in front of Kurogane.

"Hey Kurogane." She called.

"What?"

"Where did you get that sword? I didn't see any blacksmiths or weapon shops around here." She said nervously.

"Yeah Kuro-poo. You never told us what you did today." Fai added.

"Nothing much." Kurogane shrugged.

"Ooooh Kuro-poo has a secret!" Mokona sang.

Rika sighed. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. She figured she wouldn't get a straight answer from him anyways. She turned to Sakura and reached over and brushed some hair away from her face. "Its so deceptive."

"What is?" Syaoran asked confusion written on his face.

"The fact that she's sleeping so peacefully. You wouldn't even think that her life is in danger." She replied as she laid down on the floor her arms supporting her head.

"Well I think its time for us to go to bed!" Fai exclaimed as he stretched. "Rika because you got a stiff neck last night, would you like to sleep in my lap tonight?" He patted his thighs. "I bet its more comfortable than the floor" He teased.

Rika's face turned a bright red. "W-Who would want to sleep on your lap besides Mokona! Besides you're so skinny I bet it would hurt me more than the floor!" She shouted.

"Oh so you've been checking me out have you? Especially my legs!" He joked.

Rika stuttered a response. "N-N-No I haven't! It was just an observation!"

"Observation is just a fancy way of saying you were looking at me~"

"Shut up! I'm going to see if Arashi has some pajamas I can borrow." With that she scrambled to her feet and stomped out of the room her face burning.

Syaoran looked from the now open door to Fai's grinning face. "Was that the best thing to do Fai?"

Fai shrugged, "She's just so cute sometimes. I can't help myself."

When Rika came back thirty minutes later (for that's how long it took for her blush to go away), the lights were off and everyone seemed to be asleep. Syaoran turned his head to her and welcomed her back. She nodded her thanks and went to lie down next to Sakura. She faced Fai and studied his face. He was very handsome. But everything about him just seemed so artificial, like he was forcing himself to be happy. (Though it did seem like he genuinely enjoyed teasing Kurogane and herself.) He just had so many barriers up. She wanted to break them down. 'Wait break them down? It sounds like I'm in love with him or something. I'm not in love with him I just like him. Geez what am I thirteen and its Valentine 's Day or something?' She inwardly groaned and covered her eyes with her hands. Everything about this journey was confusing her. She was barely eighteen, but now she had to deal with people attacking her and finding Sakura's feathers. This could be too much for someone to deal with.

But then she thought of Syaoran. He was younger than she was but he was fully prepared to do whatever it took to get the feathers. She wanted to be stronger, like him, to be unwavering in his decision like him. But maybe what she needed was a purpose. After all, that was her reason for going on this journey anyway. It then hit her. Her eyes widened in realization. This is why she was here. She was meant to find the feathers. It seemed a little obvious now that she thought about. A little too obvious she thought. 'Wow I'm slow. I've been hearing about this since I was young and never once think that fate decided that I was to join them. And here I thought I was some sort of lost queen of another world or some sort of reincarnated lover or other weird stuff like that.' Fai's face appeared in her mind. 'What am I thinking? Why did I think about him? Its not like my purpose is to be with him or something. After all, I'm not really supposed to exist…' She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and settled down for another uncomfortable night of sleep.

When she woke the next morning she found that she was resting on something slightly squishy yet firm. "Ohh you're awake now. Come one we're going to look on the other side of town." Rika bolted upright and turned to the direction of the voice. 'I was sleeping on Fai's lap! I don't remember being there when I went to bed!' she screamed in her mind.

"Now now don't look so surprised. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw you with a big frown on your face. I thought to myself 'Now she looks so uncomfortable so I carried you into my arms and placed you on my lap." He told her. When Fai looked at Rika he saw her flushed face. It was an adorable sight really.

"Forget it. I'm going to get dressed." She muttered. "I'll see you outside."

She changed and met Kurogane outside. He seemed a little tense. He darted his eyes to her, then turned away uninterested. "You look nice." He said. She had chosen some simple white shorts and a tank top with butterflies on it. (A signature of her mother)

"Oh thank you Kurogane." She said with a ghost of smile. She was still a little irritated from this morning. Syaoran exited along with Fai and Mokona both of whom seemed as jolly as ever.

"Let's go guys! This feather won't find itself!" Fai proclaimed. They turned and walked south. Rika slowed and remained in the back. She took notice of the shops. They reminded her of Japan. Everything just seemed so ordinary. It was hard to believe that something like Kudan could exist here. There were stores for clothes, videos, something to the equivalent of 100 yen stores and restaurants. There were even kids in school uniforms wandering around.

Gurgle Gurgle

"I guess I'm a little hungry." Rika said with a nervous laugh.

"Mokona's hungry too! What good timing! Mokona smells something good over there!" Like with the pancake shop yesterday Mokona floated over to a little takoyaki stand. Rika ordered quietly without fuss and moved to sit next to Fai and Syaoran who simply had drinks. Rika quietly ate and listened as Fai asked Syaoran about Sakura, about her essence. She was about to get up and throw her trash away when she spotted Arashi running towards them.

"It's a good thing I found you guys! I'm so sorry I promised to look after Sakura, but she's disappeared." She said.

"Where did she go?" Syaoran exclaimed. Rika looked at Syaoran, horror was written on his face. And in his eyes she would see worry etched there. 'He really cares about her. Loves her even' she noted. "How could she be gone? She's in a coma!"

"I left to take care of something in another room and when I came back she was just gone!" Arashi said exasperatedly, wringing her hands

"Ok I have to search for her." Syaoran said determinedly

"This is a large city Syaoran. Its going to be hard to find her." Fai pointed out

Syaoran nodded. "I know. But I can't just leave her all on her own." He than ran down the street in search of her.

"What now?" Kurogane asked.

"Well it would be unkind to not search for her, what with all the gang activity in this city." Fai mused.

"I'll go back to the apartment, in case she decides to return." Arashi added.

"That's a good idea we'll do what we can as well." Fai told her. Bidding farewell Arashi walked back to the boarding house. "Now! Kuro-poo!" he proclaimed pointing a ginger to Kurogane's face. "You should go look for her as well. Rika and I will stay here." He grabbed her arm. "This will be homebase!" he pointed at the ground.

"What do you mean 'Rika and I'? 'Rika' wants to go out and find her!" Rika protested.

"But I'll be lonely! After all Mokona just fell asleep. Who is going to keep me from getting bored?" He whined. Rika was beginning to get irritated. He was just being so childish. It was cute but irritating and annoying at the same time.

"What does that have to do with anything?" She snapped.

Fai reached over with one of his hand and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. He then gently took her chin in his hand and gently lifted it so she was looking at him. "There is also the fact that I don't feel comfortable letting a pretty girl like you walk around in the city." He pointed out. Rika looked at his eyes. They darkened slightly and she knew he wouldn't budge.

"Fine. I'll stay." She conceded. She heard a huff and turned. She completely forgot that Kurogane was there. Her face flushed, something that was beginning to become a regular occurrence around Fai. She stepped away from Fai and moved to sit down on the brick wall next to the takoyaki stand. She looked at Kurogane's back as he walked away from them.

"Bye Kuro-poo! Be safe~" Fai waved to their friend. He sat down next to her, Mokona in his arms. "Now that we're alone we can finally have a nice chat without the others listening in."

Rika turned to Fai, rubbing her neck anxiously. "Why can't the others hear this?" she asked. He leaned back a little and looked to the sky.

"Because," he started. "You said it yourself. You know about us. But we know next to nothing about you. So it is time to share!" He replied that goofy grin on his face.

Rika looked darkly at him. "Well if I'm going to be sharing my life secrets with you, you might as well be honest with me. Wipe that fake smile off of your face. It bothers me that you try so hard to put this front up." His face immediately fell; instead an unreadable expression was now on his face. "It started like this I wasn't born like normal humans. I was just created." She went on to tell him about life with her mother, some of the customers that passed through, and her little adventures with her favorite person: Watanuki.

Fai looked at her face while she talked. She talked with her hands and was sometimes loud and brash. But it was her eyes that told him everything. They reflected happiness, pain, confusion, sorrow. But along with that she could tell that she was still hiding something from him. "There is something you aren't telling me. What is it?"

She stiffened. She couldn't tell him about Fei Wang Reed, or Xing Huo. Not just yet. "I can't tell you now. But I will later. Can you accept that?" She whispered staring at her lap.

Fai looked at her hands which were fidgeting. She was obviously nervous and uncomfortable about this. "Yeah, we all have our secrets to hide. But now that you told me I feel like we're in a secret organization! And you're my super cute partner!" He winked at her.

"Shut up! You stupid idiot!"

"That was a redundant statement my dear."

Rika looked up hearing pounding footsteps. "How did your search go Kuro-poo?"

Kurogane looked at Fai with a skeptical look, "Do you see her standing next to me?"

"There's no need for sarcasm Kurgy. Oh by they way, its your turn now." He placed Mokona in Kurogane's hand. "Our little guide can be a handful." Kurogane scoffed and merely shoved Mokona into his front shirt pocket. Rika looked at the sleeping creature.

"Can she even breathe in there?" She asked worriedly.

"Our little friend will be fine. Don't worry about it." Fai replied rubbing her shoulders.

"Don't touch me!" She jumped away from him.

"But we were becoming such close friends!" He teased.

"Shut…" she began before being interrupted. She saw Syaoran running towards them, also without Sakura. Her face fell. Were they ever going to find her? 'What a stupid thought of course we will. Syaoran will probably run himself to the grave looking for her.'

"Hey guys! Did you have any luck? Have you seen her?' He asked looking from person to person.

"I'm sorry Syaoran. We haven't seen a trace of her." Rika responded a frown on her face.

"SYAORAN!" A voice called. It was Masayoshi, his kudan floating beside him. "I saw Sakura." He panted. "I saw her at the okonomiyaki house with the leader of the mowhawk gang." Syaoran started to run, but Masayoshi stopped him. "They left. But I know where they went." His kudan then floated in front of the group and folded his hands in prayer.

"Uhh are you sure this is going to work?" Rika asked a little wary.

"I know my kudan is only a rank four but its specialty has always been finding people." Masayoshi replied. "I've always wished I had a stronger kudan though, like Shogo, Syaoran, and Rika, something powerful enough that could stop all the fighting in the city. But it takes strong hearts to wield something of that power."

"You're not weak." Syaoran stated.

"You know if you think that then you'll never get stronger. Words are powerful. So from now on think positively! Besides you don't want to be all gloomy like Kurogane." Rika confessed. Kurogane threw her a dirty look to which she laughed off. She knew he wasn't really angry.

Masayoshi's kudan then opened his eyes and flew ahead of them. "She's over there!"

All 5 of them ran after the kudan. Rika saw the sky. It was getting late soon. Despite what she said Rika couldn't help but think of the worst. 'Maybe she got kidnapped! Or maybe she got a curse placed on her! Oh no oh no oh no!'

"Hey!" A voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Stop looking like it's the end of the world ok?" She looked to her left and saw Kurogane's irritated face.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. He ruffled her hair and then ran to the front. 'He really does care. What a big softie.' She laughed to herself at the revelation.

They reached the docks and saw that Sakura was falling towards the ground.

"Sakura!" Syaoran yelled. "I'm coming!" He ran towards her and leapt. While in the air he caught her in his arms and landed safely on the ground. A general sense of relief was felt as he placed her on the ground.

"It looks like she's been safe the whole time." Fai observed. "Not a single scratch." Rika nodded. She couldn't help but wonder. How did she get so far away from the city?

"You know she said that she was looking for her feather. Then she flew away."

"Shogo!" Masayoshi said.

Shogo looked at the group, "Well I've done enough for one night. Syaoran I'll save our rematch for later." He then turned and left, his large manta ray kudan in tow.

Rika let out a breath, "Thanks Masyoshi, without you we would have never been able to find Sakura. Your kudan is special." She then pecked him on the cheek. "A simple token of my gratitude. I'm sure Sakura would give you one too if she were awake." She teased. Masayoshi's face turned cherry red in embarrassment.

"Hey no fair! I want a kiss too Rika!" Fai argued.

"You haven't done anything Fai! When you actually do something then you'll get one." Rika said without thinking.

"Oh so you do want to kiss me?"

"Shut up! No I don't!"

"You are just the cutest thing I've ever seen."

"Shut up!"

* * *

><p>Another chapter up! This is fun to write. Its a learning experience. I've learned that I'm sh- I mean cr- err.. I'm terrible at describing clothes and battle scenes! \o Let's see where I can take this. Ha. Ha..

Thank you guys for reviewing. You guys/gals are awesome. Also I am calling Mokona a girl if you haven't noticed. I apologize if its a boy. I have a feeling that Mokona doesn't have a specific gender. Anyways! I'll talk to you next time!


	5. Chapter 5

"This is where Mokona first felt the feather here on this bridge. And here is where Mokona felt it again, near that takoyaki shop." Syaoran said pointing out the locations on a map.

Arashi looked at the map and thought for a moment. "If Mokona is sensing the feathers on the bridge and outside the shop then doesn't that indicate that the feather is moving?"

"Well that would make sense." Syaoran noted.

"That combined with the fact that it seems to appear and disappear suggests that it could be.." she continued.

"A kudan!" Syaoran realized.

Fai nodded. "Yes a kudan comes and goes, so when it disappears…"

"The waves Mokona senses disappear as well." Kurogane finished from his spot by the window. Rika who had been by the wall, tuned them out. Who was at the bridge and at the takoyaki shop? It couldn't have been their own kudans could it? She thought about the battle, Shogo was there but, they met him at the docks as well and Mokona didn't say that she felt anything there. Could it have been the mowhawk guy? No. He didn't use his kudan at all when she saw him. 'Who else was there?' She asked herself. She gasped. She had figured it out. There was only one person who was at both places. And at both instances his kudan was out. It could only be one person.

"Guys I think I know-" She began. Her face fell, they weren't listening to her.

"Don't call me Kuro-poo you little fluff ball!" Kurogane yelled.

"Kuro-poo! Kuro-poo!"

"Well we'll leave you to get settled for the night." Arashi and Sorata said their goodbyes and they too went to get ready for bed.

"Guys I think I figured it out…" She tried again. No one would listen to her. Kurogane was fighting with Mokona and Fai and Syaoran were in their own little world discussing possibilities. Growing frustrated she covered her ears and tried to sleep, the sound of Kurogane's and Mokona's fight 'lulling' her to sleep.

It was the next day and the four of them were on a rooftop of a local department store hoping Mokona could sense the feather. Mokona tried sensing the feather but to no avail. She only sighed in defeat.

"Well that plan is easier said than done." Fai sighed. He looked to companions also seeing defeat on their faces.

"You're telling me. Its not like people walk around with their kudans out." Syaoran added.

Fai then turned to Rika, "What do you think we should do little sorceress?" She glared at him, contempt written plainly on her face. "What's with that face Rika? Are you upset or something?" She ignored him and kept staring at the city her body stiff with anger. He walked over and blew in her ear. "Cheer up we'll find the feather soon."

"That's not what I'm angry about! I'm angry because I keep getting inter-"

"Syaoran there you are!" Rika slapped her forehead at being interrupted yet again.

"The feather you guys are looking for, did you find it yet?" Masayoshi panted out.

Syaoran shook his head. "No, not yet"

Masayoshi looked at them, "Well I probably know this area better than you guys. Why don't I help you look for it?"

Syaoran had a guilty look on his face. He didn't want to burden anyone else. "Are you sure?" Masayoshi nodded furiously the fires of determination burning in his small eyes.

"Ok, then we'll appreciate your help."

"Don't do that you'll hurt your neck." Rika reached out and stopped Masayoshi from nodding after which she turned around and continued to glare at the ground below her.

"What's wrong with her" Masayoshi whispered to the others. They all looked at her with apprehension, save for Fai.

Fai merely smiled. "Oh she's just being a grump. I think Kurgy here rubbed off on her too much."

"My name is Kurogane!"

A roaring could be heard from the sky. 'That doesn't sound natural.' Rika turned around and saw a large metallic bird type thing reach down for Masayoshi. "Masayoshi!" She yelled as she ran forward to pull him out of the way. Unfortunately the bird then grabbed the back of her shirt and lifted Masayoshi, who she held firmly in her arms, Mokona, and herself all into the air.

"Oh god. Oh god. This wasn't a good idea, first Syaoran and now you Masayoshi. Why do I want to keep playing the hero?" She muttered to herself "Umm Masayoshi, this may seem obvious but, don't let go."

"I wasn't on planning on it." He choked. She held on to him tighter, praying that he wouldn't fall from her grasp. "I have to admit though, this is a nice view of the city." He chuckled nervously.

"Masayoshi. Thanks but shut up." She hissed. They were then taken to a replica of an ancient feudal castle. On the balcony stood a girl with long green hair and a strange outfit that made it look like she had wings, and behind her were three men.

"Who is this? You got someone extra!" The mysterious girl yelled. She smacked the men behind her with a giant fan, yelling something like, "Can't you guys do your job right? I can't believe you!" Rika couldn't help but be a little shocked at the situation before her. She was still in the clutches of a bird creature (She figured it was a kudan) and now she saw her captors. 'What is with this world? Is kidnapping legal here?'

"Uhh can you guys possibly let us go now?"

The girl turned to her and gleefully said, "I'm sorry! But I have a plan and you guys will just have to be tied up!" The bird then let go of her shirt and she fell to the ground along with Masayoshi and Mokona. Each man had a length of rope.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." She said in disbelief. Minutes later she was hanging above the castle. "This is embarrassing." Her irritation was beginning to grow and she started to struggle against the ropes. "Can these ropes be any tighter?" she asked. It felt as if she was being constricted by a snake and her doom was coming.

"I'm sure they could be." Masayoshi timidly said. She sent him a glare. "Ok shutting up now." Rika then looked down and she saw Kurogane, Fai, and Syaoran there. Were they here to rescue her? She tried wiggling her arms but all it got her was a rope burn. Just when she was out of options she mentally scolded herself. How in the blazes did she forget that could use magic? 'I guess looking for Sakura's feather is a big distraction' she thought. .

"Hehehe I'm going to get out of here!" She snickered

Masayoshi looked at her in confusion. "Umm how?"

She smirked at him. "You'll see." She held her hand out as if cupping something "Fire!" With that a ball of fire appeared in her hand which she shot up. The ropes that bound her burned and she landed on the roof. However it happened to fast and she didn't have the proper footing. She landed with all her weight on her right foot as it twisted in a way it was not supposed to. Pain shot throughout her body, she let out a small groan of pain and tried to reach for a handhold. However she slid down the curved roof and was soon hanging off the edge. Her hand now throbbed in pain as it was bearing all of her weight.

"Rika!" Masayoshi screamed. Rika struggled to lift herself up. It had been a while since she did any sort of physical activity and any strength she had had atrophied away.. She relied on her magic too much when she went with Watanuki. Rika could feel her fingers beginning to fatigue, she couldn't hold on much longer. One by one her fingers let go of the roof until she suddenly started plummeting towards the ground. She could feel the air whooshing past her ears and felt her hair whip her face. She closed her eyes as if that could help soften her fall. However when her back didn't meet the ground, she opened her eyes she saw the sapphire blue eyes of Fai.

"F-Fai! Where did you come from?" She asked astonished.

"Well I came from Celes, it's a faraway world." He replied.

"That's not what I meant! What I mean is… Nevermind. Thank you for catching me. Can you put me on the ground now?" She said looking away from his chest.

"Hmmm I don't know I kind of like having you so close to me." Fai whispered in her ear.

"Put me down! You have a battle anyway! Also since when did you have a kudan?" She rambled.

"I'll answer your questions later. I have a battle to finish." He grinned. Rika crossed her arms and looked away as he placed her gently on the ground. "See you soon!"

The girl on the balcony who Rika later found out was Primera, an international pop sensation, had started attacking Fai with sound, notes soared through the air to Fai. A large boom rocked the air and a cloud of pink was created where Fai was. A chorus of "Fai" was heard from Rika and Syaoran. But it was unwarranted as when the smoke cleared Fai was unscathed. Primera stomped the roof frustrated that he dodged. She sang into her microphone again. Note after note flew out of her mic and at and flew towards Fai. However he dodged them all with grace as he flew around. It seemed like he was actually having fun.

'What is that idiot doing? Can he at least attack or better yet get Masayoshi and Mokona down?' Rika thought. She heard behind her Syaoran and Kurogane talking about how his looks betray his actual fighting experience.

"Does it matter that he looks spineless? Hasn't your mother ever told you to not judge a book by its cover?" She looked over her shoulder at the two males behind her. Kurogane looked confused. "What does that even mean?" He asked. Rika laughed nervously, "It's just a saying I'll explain it later." She said waving it off. Primera then yelled a new attack and a giant treble clef was sent his way. "Where did he go?" Rika shouted in fear

"Over here you three. Were you worried about me little sorceress?" Rika flushed again. "But nevermind me how is Mokona?" he asked

Kurogane looked up at Mokona and saw her still swinging around. "Still singing that same dumb song."

Rika noted, "Well obviously Primera's kudan doesn't have the feather."

Primera looked curiously at the rag tag group of friends. "What are you guys chitchatting about? Well it doesn't matter. Its time to bust out my ultimate move: Death to Flyboy the Awesomely-ChartTopping Pop Remix!" A solid line of notes came out of her kudan microphone. However Fai merely jumped and walked on top of it as if it were solid ground, when he was close enough he jumped towards Primera. She fell back and he pinned her down with one hand over her shoulder effectively boxing her in.

"I'd hate to hurt such a pretty girl. Why don't you say we stop?" He asked her.

Primera's eyes filled with unshed tears. "I'm so embarrassed!" However she didn't realize that her microphone was still close to her face and three large music notes appeared above the castle and exploded, cutting Masayoshi's and Mokona's bonds. They too began to fall towards the ground much like Rika had earlier.

"They'll be killed!" Syaoran cried. Masayoshi's kudan appeared and tried to carry him to safety but to no avail. He and Mokona were still plummeting to the ground. However they were both saved by a large manta ray. Shogo's kudan.

"Primera stop it. What are you doing? Shouldn't you be performing a concert right now?" Shogo asked.

Primera looked at him indignantly. "I'm the one who should be asking questions! I haven't seen you all day! Where have you been! And as for the concert its right over there in Hanshin Dome. I have plenty of time. And what were you doing yesterday with your arm around that other girl? Would you rather spend time with her than me?" Her voice getting choked up towards the end.

Kurogane looked annoyed at the scene before him. "What are they fighting about?"

"It's a lover's spat Kurogane." Rika looked pointedly at him, "But then again I bet you never had a lover." She teased.

"Between school, home, and my job I'm really busy right now!" Shogo yelled.

"But I'm lonely without you." Primera cried. "So that's why I wanted to beat up that Syaoran guy. So you could spend more time with me instead of fighting him." She whimpered. Although Primera was the one that tied her up Rika couldn't help but sympathize. She was just a girl who missed her boyfriend. (Granted she took her methods to an extreme level it was still understandable)

"You do know that isn't Syaoran right?" Shogo asked his eyebrow twitching.

"Yeah." She wailed.

Rika looked back at Masayoshi and saw Mokona jumping around crying "Syaoran! Syaoran!"

Syaoran noticed too and yelled. "Hey your eyes! Is it the feather?"

"Its here! The feather's very close now!" Rika had to take a moment and ask herself how did Syaoran see Mokona's eyes from here. Mokona was at least fifty feet in the air and Mokona had small eyes to begin with. Now she didn't have poor eyesight or anything. But even she struggled to see Mokona's tiny body on the roof. She was so engrossed in her ramblings she didn't notice Fai pick her up into his arms as he carried her.

"SHOGO!" A voice screamed startling Rika. She looked around seeing if it came from anywhere close to her. "I MISS YOU!" When she realized the voice as Primera she relaxed a little.

"I missed you too babe." He replied exasperated.

"Good grief could she be any more dramatic?" Rika clucked.

"If they continue on like that I think I'm going to throw up." sighed Kurogane. Rika turned her face to him, "You only say that because you don't have a lover~"

"Oh what and you do?" He yelled.

"I've had a boyfriend once yes. But I broke it off because he was so overbearing." She retorted. Something below her shifted, Rika looked up and saw that Fai was looking down smiling at her. It was then she realized that Fai was carrying her again. "Why are you carrying me?"

"Well your ankle is hurt and I can't let you walk on it so I'm carrying you." He said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Oh you also missed Syaoran challenging Shogo to a battle."

"What?" She cried. "Let me go!" She tried to get out of his arms but he had an iron grip around her shoulder and legs. Rika gave up and instead she looked at Syaoran who had his fire kudan by his side. The air was tense. Everyone could feel the energy that filled the air, both men were determined to win. With a wave of their arms both Syaoran and Shogo had their kudans release a burst of energy at the other ultimately colliding in the center. Orbs of red flew around Shogo, who stood unaffected, and orbs of blue surrounded Syaoran breaking apart the ground around him.

"Behind you!" Masayoshi screamed from the rooftop. Syaoran turned and saw a huge slab of rock flying towards him. Effortlessly he jumped into the air and kicked it apart leaving him unharmed.

"He's no amateur that's for sure." Fai smiled

"Whoa where did Syaoran learn to do that?" Rika asked astonished. The rock had broken into many pieces. He must have had a lot of physical strength.

"From what I gather he's never had much of a warrior lifestyle. I wonder."

Kurogane looked at the two of them, "Maybe he learned from your battle with the singer girl."

Rika shook her head and stared at Syaoran. "I don't think that's it. Fai was on the defensive nearly the entire time. He never really attacked. I think Syaoran has some secrets…"

Syaoran then held his arm out and let a burst of energy fly from his fist to Shogo's kudan. The impact was so strong that it threw Shogo into the safety of his kudan. He was released and jumped to the ground. "Impressive. I've been fighting since I could lace my boots and I've never been thrown back like that. Just what makes you so strong Syaoran?" Syaoran remained silent, his expression stony. "Not giving your secrets away?"

"There is something I promised I would do."

"Is that so? Well then are you ready?" Shogo then lifted his arm into the sky and his kudan transformed into a wall of water. With a yell his kudan filled the pit with water with a force strong enough to shake the ground and the now precarious Hanshin Castle. The water surrounded them, it had created a lake where one shouldn't be engulfing everything, including Syaoran. Syaoran was completely submerged in the water, not even the bubbles from his breath were breaking the surface.

"Syaoran! Where did he go?" Rika screamed. The water stilled and she still couldn't see his form underneath the surface of the water. With a flash of light she saw him, he was enveloped in some sort of bubble made of fire that didn't burn him. She let out a sigh of relief now that he was on solid ground. However a low rumble caught her off guard and she turned (As best as she could while in Fai's arms) towards the castle. It was crumbling to pieces! She could see Mokona and Primera huddled together screaming for help. She also saw Masayoshi climbing up the roof and cover Mokona and Primera with his body.

"Its going to be ok! Just hold on to me." She faintly heard. 'I knew he could do it but, he just need a little push.' In her peripheral vision she could see something growing. It was Masayoshi's kudan! He had grown taller than that of Hanshin Castle! His kudan loomed over the castle and scooped him up. However Primera started attacking the kudan with her fists imploring it to let go of the boy. The eyes of the kudan glowed red and its once passive expression then turned into one of anger. It opened its mouth and a large sphere of energy formed and was then fired at the city.

"What's going on? Fai! What happened? Do you know?"

"Given water, sun, and soil, a seed will grow." Fai smiled. Rika looked at him incredulously.

"I hope that means you're surprised because that didn't make much sense." Kurogane muttered.

A shrill voice cut their conversation short. "Syaoran! The feather I feel it! Its inside the magic giant boy!" Mokona yelled.

"So his kudan absorbed it." Fai noted.

Kurogane however was confused, "But I thought a strong kudan could hold it, but his is a class four."

Rika looked at the scene before her. "Masayoshi's kudan has always been this strong. Didn't you guys notice? He's always willing to help. Always eager to do the right thing. But because he believed he was weak, his kudan was weak as well." The kudan kept attacking the city ignoring the pleas of Masayoshi. "What are you going to do Syaoran? With the power of the feather we don't know how strong it will actually be. You could be in serious danger. You may even die."

Syaoran clenched a fist and turned to her, "I'm not going to die. I still have a purpose and I'm a long way from finishing it. I'll see you soon." He then jumped and landed on the back of his kudan flying towards the city.

"Why does he do that? He's always going off on his own to try and gather these feathers. He didn't even ask us for help." Rika meekly mumbled. Fai looked to the girl in his arms. "He's always blazing forth on his own path. Its kind of fitting that his kudan has the element of fire. Speaking of which that's the first time I saw you use magic! It was adorable."

"Is that all you can say about me?"

"But you are!"

"Shut up! Look at Syaoran!" Kurogane said. They both looked up and saw Syaoran punching Masayoshi's kudan he was slowly being swallowed into the kudan. 'Is he seriously punching it?'

BOOM

Rika shielded her eyes from the light and felt the wind blow past her causing Fai falter and readjust his footing. She then started to feel the pitter patter of rain against her skin. 'But how? Its so sunny. When she looked up she saw Shogo's kudan in the sky making it rain.

"Where is Syaoran?"

"Where is the kid?" Kurogane and Rika said.

Fai closed his eyes and nodded behind him. "If you're looking for him he's safe over there." They saw him crouched on the ground his arms tucked into himself obviously shielding the feather.

"Thank goodness." Rika croaked, "What an ordeal."

"You know its really starting to irritate me that you're so caring. I mean don't you get angry?" Kurogane growled through his teeth.

"I've just always been this way." She shrugged.

"Its no matter! Come on let's get this feather to Sakura." Fai sang.

When they returned to the boarding house Fai placed Rika, who now was staring at her hands as if they were the most interesting thing in the world, on a chair in the kitchen. "I'll get Arashi. She's probably better at mending your ankle than I am." He laughed and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. Rika's eyes widened and she shot her head up to yell and protest. But he was gone. He always made her feel these strange things. She was attracted but at times put off by him. 'This is weird. I hate when I can't logically explain things. This whole journey is confusing! And it has only been a few days! I didn't even feel this way for Hideki.' Arashi came in, waking Rika from her daze, with a little box. She then kneeled down in front of Rika and started to wrap her ankle. The two exchanged pleasantries but were cut off by the sound of pounding feet then the door opening and closing. Both could tell that something had changed the air around them. It was a bittersweet feeling that surrounded them.

"Thanks Arashi. Can you tell me where the others are?" She asked.

"They're upstairs and I think it was Syaoran who went outside." Arashi replied. Rika nodded her thanks and went up the stairs slowly to find her companions. She had found s Kurogane and Fai looking out a window, both looking somber.

"He needs to be strong." Kurogane grunted.

"He is strong. It takes strength to cry when you need to." Fai countered. Rika walked up to them and laid a hand on the window the cool glass chilling her skin. "So it has finally hit him huh?" She asked as she looked at the two men. Their silence was the answer she needed. "I agree with Fai." She began. "It takes true strength to embrace your weaknesses. You aren't weak for crying. In fact I think you're weak if you don't cry. Because then you're just bottling everything up and ignoring your problems." Her eyes darted to Fai. "You're just running away." She pulled away and started to limp down the hallway. "I'm going to introduce myself to Sakura. I'll see you in the morning."

As she left Fai turned away from the window and looked at Rika's retreating form and saw her body tensed in pain. He shook his head at her stubbornness and then turned back to Syaoran's form in the rain.

* * *

><p>The next morning all five of them had changed into their original clothes and now stood in front of their friends as they bid them farewell. Primera had invited them to a concert, Shogo told Syaoran that he was beat, and Masayoshi saw them off with a smile on his face and goggles on his head. 'I wonder if we'll always make friends in the worlds we visit.<p>

"Mokona Modoki ready to go! Wa hoo!" The furball yelled. The light surrounded them once again and they were sent to the area between worlds. Rika suddenly felt a pulling sensation at her chest and she saw a vibrant orb of yellow in front of her, her kudan, before disappearing behind her. "Thank you." She whispered to it.

They landed with a resounding thud. Rika rubbed her backside as she stood up. Her ankle throbbed at the usage but she ignored it. She looked around her and saw that they had landed in a marketplace. Produce was scattered everywhere and boxes around them had broken. Sakura was at her side, Syaoran behind her, and Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona to her right.

"Is everyone alright?" Syaoran asked.

"Out of my way!" A loud voice bellowed. It was a large lumbering man. "Explain yourselves! Just who are you and what are you doing here?" He asked Sakura. She could only blink at him. "No answer? Well then you're coming with me." He reached forward to grab her arm but someone stopped him.

"Don't touch her." Rika threatened, her eyes darkened with her rage. The tall man shook her hand off and reached for Sakura again. But before he could Rika brought her foot down on his. "Oww!" He yelled as he grabbed his foot. When he was distracted Rika brought her arm back and elbowed his chest sending him back a few feet the wind now knocked out of him.

"Why you.." Before he could finish Syaoran leaped and kicked him in the face sending the large man on his back. "Hey kid do you even know who you're messing with? I can make loads of trouble for you." Syaoran looked at him with a smirk on his face. Rika glowered.

"Give it up!" a voice demanded. "Why do you have to bully everyone around you? How pathetic." Rika looked up and saw a girl with black hair in a ponytail on a rooftop.

"Cyunyan! I should have known you'd chime in you brat!" the man responded "You of all people know the consequences!"

'Cyunyan' scoffed. "Don't make me laugh. Your father is no lord! A year ago you were street magicians!"

The man was growing angrier and angrier as the conversation went on. "You're in dangerous territory! My father will hear about all the bad mouthing you did!" A messenger then came to his side. "Immediately? Alright then. This message has bought you some time! But mark my words this isn't the end Cyunyan! Back to the fortress!" The man then turned and stalked off with a small limp. Rika couldn't help but smirk at her accomplishment.

When the large man left it seemed as if the town went back to normal. People started to pick up the fallen produce and chat about their day. "Well that was quite a welcome, huh kids?" Fai asked.

"Oh look at what we did." Rika said as she looked around. "We made such a mess. Let's help clean up." Rika suggested. Syaoran nodded and kneeled down to pick up some potatoes. Rika turned and saw a small pile of carrots. She picked them up and brought them to the stall owner. The owner smiled in thanks.

"I found another pile over here."

Rika turned and saw the girl from the roof. "Thank you." She said. "You're the girl from the roof! Thank you for sticking up for us." Rika said.

"Why are you dressed funny?" Cyunyan asked puzzled.

"Do you hear that Kurgy? She thinks you're funny!" Fai chortled. Rika face palmed at his teasing.

"If the she thinks I look funny then so are you!" Kurogane yelled.

Cyunyan began to mutter to herself. A look of realization dawned on her face. She rushed to put her potatoes away and when she did she picked up one of Sakura's hands. Her eyes lit up with what looked like hope. 'Hope? Why that?' Rika wondered.

"Come with me!" She yelled. Cyunyan then began to drag Sakura behind her. They all looked at each other and shrugged. She couldn't be all that bad if she stuck up for them. They began the walk to wherever Cyunyan was taking them. Rika lagged behind, her ankle screaming at her for being used.

"You've grown up. Sister." A voice whispered.

Rika gasped and chills went down her spine, Fai looked over his shoulder at her. "Are you ok? Does your ankle hurt?" He asked. He then snapped his finger. "I know! You want me to carry you!"

Rika shook her head. "I'm ok. I thought I heard something." The voice tickled her ear and at the same time it felt as if she was being slowly poisoned.

Fai frowned, "If you say so.

In the shadows a figure leaned against a wall. "Its been a long time. But I've finally found you. I'll see you soon, so don't have too much fun without me." A portal appeared behind on the wall he was leaning on, its swirls of purple and black beckoning the young man through it. "Oh? So soon? I was beginning to have some fun. Oh well." He stepped through the portal an evil smile on his face. "Ta ta."

* * *

><p>Who has two thumbs and isn't very happy with this chapter? This girl! Oh god. I was reading this over and my AP Lit teacher would be so mad at me. I have to show you guys! Not tell you! All that rich language he pounded into my brain for months is now for naught! But don't despair I'll work on incorporating that into my later chapters. For now I leave you with this. This is un-betaed. Any and all mistakes are mine. OTL Until next time guys.<p>

Note to self: Be more descriptive...

Oh! And thank you guys for the reviews :)


	6. Chapter 6

"So umm, where are we again?" Syaoran asked the girl in front of him. They sat in a line. Rika on the right, Sakura in the middle and he was on the left.

"This is where I live. Why are you here? You can tell me. Its just between us." Cyunyan said.

"Uh ok. We just barely arrived in your country and we're kind of looking for something. Is there any reason you're asking us these questions?" Syaoran responded blinking confusedly at her.

Cyunyan crawled on her knees towards the three of them. "Well don't you have any?"

Rika looked at the girl and shook her head, "No we don't. Sorry."

The girl slumped over and sighed. "I see. You're not the ones." Rika was tempted to pat her back but she decided not to. They didn't even know each other for an hour yet. "What was I thinking? Why would they recruit kids like you as mitteishu anyway?" Cyunyan said.

"Who or what are the mitteishu?" Rika asked, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"The mitteishu are investigators sent out by our government. They travel across the country in disguise to make sure that none of the lords are misbehaving. It is their job to make sure our country is ruled fairly." Cyunyan explained.

Mokona jumped to them, "Hey that's just like Mito Komon!" The creature exclaimed.

"Mito?"

"Komon?"

"He's on Yuko's fun picture box!" Mokona explained. "Protector of innocents! Vanquisher of evil lords! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Rika's head fell into her hands. How was she to explain a television show to people who have never even heard of a television? Thankfully though no one seemed to take Mokona seriously.

Fai popped in and crouched next to Rika, "I'm sorry but what was your name again?"

"I'm Cyunyan."

He smiled at her. "My name is Fai Flowright. The lovely lady next to me is Rika Ichihara. Isn't she adorable?" Rika smacked his arm at the comment. Fai merely smiled at her and continued. "Next to her is Sakura and he's Syaoran. The gloomy guy in the back is Kurgs."

"Kurogane."

He then held Mokona up, "And this is Mokona." Mokona spun and his hand and jumped towards Cyunyan. She giggled at the little creature. "Mokona is kind of like our mascot. I guess you would say. Anyways back to what you were discussing before. You've been waiting for the mitteishu to investigate the local lord and his son? Are they really that unsavory?"

Cyunyan clenched her fists that were at her side. "You have no idea. They're evil!" She narrowed her eyes and glared at the ground. "They killed my mother." A rattling sound silenced their conversation. The doors of the house began to shake violently. Rika squeaked in surprise.

"The wind?" Fai asked.

Kurogane shook his head. "Something's off. I'll go check it out." He began to stand up.

"No wait you can't go out there!" Cyunyan cried. Right after she said that the doors slew open and wind started to rush through the house. Fai pulled Rika towards him while Syaoran did the same for Sakura. Rika tore her gaze from the open door to the now splintering roof.

"This is Tambal's doing!" Cyunyan shouted.

Rika tried to escape Fai's grip. "Fai, let me go! Fai!"

"I can't do that."

She struggled against his arms. "Fai! I can fix this! Ugh fine I can do it from here." She pointed a finger to the open roof "I call upon the wind. Answer my plea!" from her the tip of her finger a tornado formed and shot through the roof.

"What are you doing?" Kurogane asked astonished.

"I'm fixing the problem!" Her own wind then rose and fought against Tambal's. The two forces blew every person around nearly lifting Mokona with it. The wind whipped her hair across her face and caused her eyes to tear. But she couldn't break away, if she did Tambal could blow the entire roof off. 'Tch what is this? This is strange.' Then as suddenly as it started the wind disappeared, leaving an odd sense of calm around the group. Rika took the time to look around. There was splintered wood everywhere, broken roof tiles inside the house, and a large hole was in the roof. She winced at the damage she helped cause.

"I'm sorry Cyunyan… I tried to stop him. But that was really powerful magic." Rika apologized.

The girl smiled sadly. "Its ok I know you were only trying to help." She sighed and looked at her house. "Well we may as well start cleaning up."

The morning after Tambal attacked, one could find Rika looking out into Cyunyan's yard. It reminded her of home. It set her at ease. Syaoran, Sakura, Mokona, and Cyunyan went into town, while Fai and Kurogane stayed back to help repair. She was waiting for the water to heat up for tea. (Fai wouldn't let her do anything because of her ankle.)

She looked at her hands, hands that could destroy all in sight or help rebuild a city. 'I'm still so weak. I couldn't even fight of Tambal's attack. What was the point in releasing that seal if I still can't control my magic.' She limped back to the kitchen like area and readied a little tea set. Fai and Kurogane could use a break. As she walked back she reminisced. She was homesick. It had been only a week and a few days but it felt as if months have gone by. She missed her mother and her antics, especially when her mother was giddily drunk. She missed Maru, Moro, and the brat Watanuki. 'I guess the old adage that 'you don't know what you have until it is gone' is actually true.' "Hey boys I have some tea. Would you like some?"

"I would love some Rika. Thank you." Fai accepted a cup with a smile. Kurogane's rhythmic hammering stopped as he peered in the house. He leered at Fai who was resting against a stack of wood boards.

"Hey! Put the tea down and help me out!" He said startling Rika.

"Oh I'm sorry Kurogane. Would you like some?"

"Kuro-poo I was only thinking of you. I thought you liked manual labor." Fai teased.

"Whatever." And the hammering started again. Rika looked between the two and smiled, their banter was cute and without either of them knowing it they became friends.

"What are you so happy about?" Fai asked looking at the girl. She shook her head and headed back outside. Rika sat down her feet hanging off the edge. 'I wonder what the others are doing right now. I hope they're safe, especially with Sakura off in a daze most of the time.

"Why hello there." A deep voice said.

Rika looked around her. She couldn't recognize the voice but she felt in the pit of her stomach that she somehow knew this mystery person. "Who are you?"

"I'm someone closer to you than anyone else." The voice replied. "Just follow my voice and you can see me."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because I have the answers that you're so desperately looking for." It replied. She stood up and struggled. Should she stay here and ignore this voice? Or should she follow him. Putting her fears aside she followed the voice. She limped past the market place, her mind foggy. It was if some outside force was compelling her towards the voice. When Rika broke through her daze she realized that she was in the outskirts of the town and the sun still beat down on her skin, but for some reason everything around her looked dark and sinister, contrasting to the life of the town she just left.

"Ok where are you? I'm here." She heard footsteps behind her and she whipped her head and stiffened. She relaxed however when she saw the figure before her. It was a man. His hair was as black as night and brushed the nape of his neck, which seemed to float as the wind brushed against his face. But she froze, her mouth agape, when she saw his piercing eyes. Behind the small circular glasses perched on his nose she could see his eyes, the same red as her mother's. He stepped closer to Rika and held his arms out. "Aren't you going to greet your brother?"

Her eyes widened, dumbfounded, "B-B-Brother?" she stammered. Her heart beat wildly against her chest. A smirk formed on his face. His skin was pale and flawless. "Yes. Didn't you know you had a brother? We're twins Rika! Rika meaning 'scent of home' kinda ironic don't you think? Considering the journey that you are on?" He chuckled.

"Do you even hear what you're saying? It doesn't make sense! I am an only child!" She screamed at him. Yuko never told her that she had a brother. Yuko never lied to her. Yuko loved her. This man had to be lying. She shook her head, her dark hair whipping her face as she denied his claim. "You're delusional!" The man in front of her frowned, his eyes pained as he stared at his sister.

"But I am your brother. My name is Jianyu. I'm sure you realized that my eye color is familiar. Who else has red eyes?" He said as if he was talking to a three year old.

'Kurogane has red eyes…' she thought to herself. Jianyu stepped closer to her and placed her finger underneath her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Sweet sister, you have to believe me. What reason do I have to lie to you?"

"Oh I don't know. Let's just forget the fact that I have the potential to be an extremely powerful magician, my friends are looking for Sakura's memories, and um. Oh! There is an evil sorcerer out to get us!" She replied sarcastically. She pulled away from him and started limping back to Cyunyan's house. Jianyu narrowed his eyes at her. He was giving her a family and she had the nerve to throw it away? It enraged him. He opened his mouth to yell at her but stopped himself. He closed his mouth and smirked, he had to keep his cool. He could not allow himself endanger everything he had been working towards. Instead he walked behind her and grabbed her arm, and stopped her in her tracks.

"Let me go you freak! You're hurting me!" She turned around and tried to pull herself free. But his hand tightened around her and she was sure that there would be a bruise there later.

He tugged her towards him, "Please! You have to believe me! You realize that the universe needs balance right? If you were created, then something or someone, namely me, needed to exist to counterbalance all your 'you-ness' does that make sense?" he asked. Rika could only stare at him. His claims were becoming less and less far fetched. But still there was something about him that she couldn't quite make out that made her uneasy around him. He was too friendly, too nice, almost like Fai in a way. They were both hiding something. Jianyu stared at his sister in confusion. Her face contorted as she thought to herself completely oblivious to the fact that he still had her arm in a vice grip.

He sighed and conceded, "Well its obvious that you aren't going to trust me anytime soon so why don't I just heal your ankle and we can go on our merry way. I'm not a bad person Rika. I just wanted to see my twin sister." With that he let go of her arm and watched as it fell to her side. He kneeled down and placed his hands over her injured ankle. Jianyu's hands started to glow a soft pink and Rika could feel warmth surge through her body. It was comforting, like her mother's hug whenever she got frightened.

"Oh, thank you. I guess." She turned her ankle and inspected it, all the swelling had disappeared! She jumped and to her amazement there was no pain. Her eyes widened and as she looked up to thank her brother again, he was gone. All that was in front of her was the beautiful landscape of Koryo. "Now where did he go? What a mysterious person, spouting nonsense about being twins. He had to be at least five years older than me." She brushed the thought off. "Anyways I have more important things to worry about like where in this world Sakura's feather is. I don't have time to worry about strange men… My hands are already full with Fai…" She let out a breath and tried to find her way back to town.

"WHERE AM I!"

It had taken her about an hour to make it back to the town. Rika saw the hustle and bustle of all the townspeople and let out a sigh of relief. Now that she made it back, she could only hope that Fai didn't notice that she was gone for several hours. However much to her dismay Fai was waiting for her at Cyunyan's house, the same goofy smile plastered on his face. "Where did you go? The market? Did you have fun? Is your ankle feeling better?"

She looked pointedly, "Nowhere. Maybe. Not really. Yes it is." She walked past him and walked to the area of the house where Kurogane was fixing the roof. Sure enough he was still there, rhythmically hammering away at the wooden board. "Kurogane you might as well come down now. That's enough for one day don't you think?" She asked the man. He grunted and jumped back into the house. 'He really is like a big teddy bear. He seems so rugged and tough but he's just a big softie on the inside.

"We're back!" Cyunyan called, waving to the others. Rika turned and saw Syaoran's and Sakura's new clothes.

"You two look nice, adorable even." She giggled. Fai came up behind her and added, "Yeah do we get some nice clothes as well? Haha." Rika elbowed him in his stomach. "I was kidding, can't you get that Rika?" She rolled her eyes and talked with Mokona and learned that Sakura won five first place prizes. Her eyes widened. 'That isn't normal… Sakura has some crazy luck.' She thought to herself.

"What happened to you guys?" Kurogane grunted. Cyunyan's eyes narrowed in irritation, as she remembered what happened earlier. They had seen Tambal's son Bulgal set a house on fire as punishment for not paying taxes. When they had confronted him Bulgal had summoned wind using his father's hijutsu and a fan that used to belong to Cyunyan's mother. Syaoran tried to stop him but soldiers were summoned and Syaoran was knocked back by wind and Bulgal escaped. Rika couldn't help but frown at the fact that she had been drinking tea while they were in danger.

"Well I'm glad you guys are alright now. Now I don't know about the rest of you guys but I'm tired." Rika told them stretching her arms out in front of her.

"You didn't do anything!" Kurogane argued. "Wait, how are you walking around?" Rika froze. She forgot that her ankle was healed by Jianyu her supposed 'brother'

She "Uhh magic!" she replied trying to brush past them, but Fai caught the back of her shirt pulling her back to him.

"Not so fast my dear. Wait here. I'll spread out your bed roll for you. Ok?" He told her. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her. "Whatever. Do what you want." He smiled at her and gleefully walked away.

The next morning they had gathered around for breakfast and Rika couldn't help but notice how Syaoran's face contorted in pain as he tried to use his chopsticks.

"That fall hurt you?" The princess asked. Rika nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, do you want me to wrap it or something? If you keep using it like that it can only get worse." She told him as she stared at his hand.

"It takes a lot to knock you down Syaoran. This lord must be pretty powerful." Fai added.

Cyunyan's hand tightened around her chopsticks. Her eyebrows knit together in anger. "Yeah, and that is the only reason he is still in power here. We would never let him rule us if we had a choice." She explained. Kurogane looked confusedly at the young girl.

"But its only the lord and his son right?" He asked her. "And you've got a town full of people, you could easily overthrow them." She shook her head and looked at him.

"We've already tried. Six months ago we had a mob gathered at the fortress steps, armed with every weapon we could find." She took in a breath. "But Tambal's hijutsu kept us from even getting through the doors."

Rika turned to Fai to see that he had a contemplative look on his face. It was surprising to see such a serious expression on his face. "Barriers huh? That must be what Mokona was talking about. A mysterious energy surrounding the town." He said looking towards the white creature. Mokona frowned all the energy waves were confusing her. She wasn't able to pick up on the feather's energy.

"Well if you can't get inside the fortress then why don't you wait for him to come out? Then you can attack him." Kurogane offered. His arms crossed against his chest.

"Tambal never leaves his fortress." Cyunyan responded. Rika furrowed her eyebrows. The situation was more serious than she thought. These people were the victims of a tyrannical dictator. He didn't threaten with guns or military force like in her world but rather with magic and the unknown.

"His son leaves though. We could take him hostage. Then torture him until dear ol' daddy relents." Fai told them. Rika's and Syaoran's eyes widened.

"Wait torture?" They both asked astonished.

"That seems a little extreme Fai. And I don't want to have anything to do with malicious stuff like that. Besides we don't want to sink to his level do we?" Rika said. Syaoran nodded in agreement. Kurogane looked at the magician, his lips turned upward in a smirk.

"Well well, Fai it sounds like you have some experience." He mused. Fai only gave him a lopsided smile and a chuckle. However that plan was useless as they learned that Tambal watched over the town and he could protect his son with the wind he was able to summon.

"I guess we only have one option left: attack. We take the fight right to him, after all every fortress has to have one weak point. You just need a strong leader." Kurogane stated.

Cyunyan's shoulders shook in frustration. "The town has no warriors and the mitteishu haven't shown up. We have no leader."

"Sure you do. Right here." Kurogane interceded. Rika's eyebrows rose up in disbelief. Kurogane wanted to help someone?

Cyunyan's eyes lit up, "Then you'll fight for our cause?"

Kurogane shrugged, "Why not?" he said.

"Uhh isn't that Fai's line? You usually stay out of people's business Kurogane." Rika told the warrior.

"Yeah, are you tired of fixing roofs already?" Fai teased.

"You can hammer nails all you want, I'm gonna swing a sword. If I'm stuck in this world I may as well have some fun. But first things first, I'm going to need a few soldiers."

"Leave that to me! I can find you soldiers!" Cyunyan yelled. With that she hurried around the house gathering all the dishes and putting them away. Rika's eyes followed the young girl as she whizzed throughout the house, eventually getting dizzy the young girl ran across the room. Cyunyan then turned and grabbed Syaoran and Sakura's hands and ran out the door. "Bye everyone! We'll be back soon!" She yelled.

Rika stared at the dust cloud Cyunyan left behind. "Be safe…" She meekly said waving goodbye.

"Well now that they're gone it's time for me to start some battle plans." Kurogane grunted walking towards a small table. Rika looked from him to the hole in the roof.

"But who is going to fix the roof?" She asked. Kurogane looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"Don't look at me. I have actual work to do."

She then turned to Fai who was leaning against a wall. "What about you?"

"I don't see why not. But I have to warn you I haven't done much physical labor. At least nothing like patching up a roof." Fai answered. "Besides why don't you fix it?"

"I don't want to." She simply stated a smile on her face. He just looked at her and with skip gathered the hammer, nails and wood and started to climb up to fix the roof. Rika sighed, glad to have evaded any actual work. Now she could just lay there, or meditate, or maybe knit a sweater. She didn't really know.

I looked at Fai and I saw him half-heartedly hammering at the wood board that went across the hole in the roof. That idiot, all he's going to do is anger Kurogane. Speaking of which, I wonder what Kurogane is up to. He had a map of the entire city in front of him and was mumbling quietly to himself. For the first time in a long while, I was utterly bored.

I opened my hand and stared at my palms. I could feel my skin tingle with my magic. It was yearning to be released. I concentrated on forming fire in my hands, to feel its warmth against my skin, to my delight a flame appeared in my hands no bigger than a tennis ball appeared. But as soon as it appeared it flickered away and my hands were cold again. I sighed and laid down on my side facing away from Kurogane and Fai. There was nothing here I could really do. I could barely control my magic and I was rusty at best when it came to any of the combat I learned as a child. Minutes passed and I drummed my fingers on the wood to the beat of Fai's hammering. And before I knew it my eyelids grew heavier and soon fell asleep.

* * *

><p>I'm terribly sorry for the long absence. I was on vacation in New York. x; I promise to be more timely with updates. As usual all mistakes are mine as this chapter and all the others are un-betaed. Sorry for the shortness as well. I wanted to get a chapter out for you guys. I'm not too happy with how Rika is developing her powers. :| I hope to get better at this. See you next time! :D<p> 


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